Sister city since: October 16, 1997

Overview

Rio Rancho sits on the banks of Rio Grande River with a total area of 92,000 acres and a population of 47,000. It is only 20 miles from Albuquerque City, one of the two largest cities in southwestern US and the largest city in New Mexico. Rio Rancho City has a mild climate, with four distinct seasons, long hours of sunshine (360 days per year) and an average rainfall of 8.32 inches. Rio Rancho City enjoys convenient transportation. It is only 5 miles away from Interstate 25 and 19 miles from Albuquerque International Airport, one of the largest and busiest in the Southwest.

Relations with Jingmen

Jingmen’s friendly exchanges with Rio Rancho dates back to 1996 with the facilitation of Ms. Zhong Wenwen, President of Hong Kong YongLi International Corporation. In April 1997, then Secretary of the CPC Jingmen Municipal Committee led a delegation to Rio Rancho, and the two sides signed two documents:Letter of Intent on establishing Sister City Relationship between Jingmen City and Rio RanchoandLetter of Intent on Economic and Technical Cooperation between Jingmen and Rio Rancho. Then Mayor of Rio Rancho, Thomas Svistak led a delegation to Jingmen in return in October 1997. During the visit, the two sides signed theAgreement on establishing Sister City Relationship between Jingmen City and Rio Ranchoand an MoU to strengthen cooperation in economy, trade, education, and culture.