Sister city since: June 18, 1998

Overview

Bordeaux is the capital of Gironde province, Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, France. The city is in the southwest of France, about 600 kilometers from Paris. It has a population of about 250,000 and an urban area of 49.36 square kilometers, making it the ninth most populous city in France. The Garonne River flows through the city, dividing it into eastern and western parts. Bordeaux is an important industrial and commercial city in southwest France and the political, economic, cultural, transportation and educational center of the region. In 2015, Bordeaux was incorporated into Bordeaux Métropole, together with the surrounding municipal public communities.

Relations with Wuhan

In June 1998, Mr. Alain Juppé, then mayor of Bordeaux and former Prime Minister of France, led a delegation to Wuhan and signed with Wuhan a friendship city agreement. In November 2001, when then Vice President Hu Jintao visited Bordeaux, he spoke highly of the cooperation between the two cities, praising it as “the exemplary friendship city between France and China”. The two cities have maintained frequent exchanges and profound friendship.

In 2017, the Friendship City Liaison Station of Wuhan Municipal People’s Government in France was officially inaugurated.

From 1998 to 2019, the two cities have had reciprocal visits by government delegations every year.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the exchange of visits between the two cities was interrupted after 2020, but close online contacts continued. Mayors of the two cities sent letters to each other many times.

In 2021, Bordeaux sent a band to participate in the nineth Qintai Music Festival online, which was warmly welcomed by local people.

With growing communication between the two cities, Wuhan’s presence in France has been significantly enhanced. The two sides have conducted fruitful cooperation in business, culture, and education, further enriching the dimensions of cooperation between China and France.