Sister province since: May 9, 1996

Overview

Aquitaine is the name of a major region in southwestern France. It is bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean and on the south by Spain. Dordogne, Gironde, Landes, Lot-et-Garonne and Pyrénées-Atlantiques are all within its jurisdiction. The New Aquitaine Region was established in January 2016 through the merger of three regions: Aquitaine, Poitou-Charentes and Limousin.

Relations with Hubei

The friendly cooperation between Hubei and Aquitaine began in the 1990s. In 1996, the two sides signed theAgreement on Establishing Friendly Relations between Hubei and Aquitaineand officially became sister provinces. Over the past 20 years, under the support of both governments, the cooperation between Hubei and Aquitaine has flourished and expanded from agriculture, forestry, and animal husbandry to various fields with local features.

In November 2016, the two governments jointly celebrated the 20th anniversary of friendly relations during which cultural and interactive activities such as wine and food tasting and Chinese and French music performance were held, attracting many locals. Senior officials of New Aquitaine came to Wuhan to attend the events.

In November 2019, the 10th Hubei-New Aquitaine & Bordeaux Wine Festival was held in Wuhan. Hu Zhiqiang, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Hubei Provincial People’s Congress, attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech. Since 2010, the wine festivals had been held for ten consecutive years, fostering a profound friendship between the two sides. Jean Pierre Raynaud, Vice-President of the Regional Council of Aquitaine, and Olivier Guyonvarch, French Consul General in Wuhan attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches.

In 2020, under the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hubei FAO and Hubei Provincial Health Commission jointly organized an online conference for medical professional from two sides to share experiences in fighting against Covid-19. During the conference, Consul General Guyonvarch highly recognized the exchange of clinical practices and medical research between the two sides, saying that the strong medical team and rich treatment experience of Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University would provide strong support for New Aquitaine in its Covid-19 response.

In 2021, recommended by the government of New Aquitaine, the Orchestre des Champs-Élysées presented an online classical concert for Wuhan’s audiences, as part of the 15th Croisements Festival.