Mayor of southwest China's Chongqing Municipality Wang Hongju met Monday with a Japanese delegation headed by Akiba Tadatoshi, mayor of Hiroshima, as the two cities prepare to commemorate their 20-year friendship.

A Chongqing government official said the commemorative activities will include a memorial conference, art performances and photo exhibitions.

The 181-member delegation from Hiroshima, including the city's peaceful development department head Iwasaki Seiji and economic bureau director Sakai Yoshinori, will inspect Chongqing’s investment environment and undertake negotiations on several projects.

The two cities have maintained friendly relations since 1986 and cooperated in economic, social, scientific, educational and cultural fields.

In 1993, Chongqing and Hiroshima built an acid rain research center together, and collaborative work between the two cities on environmental protection problems has been very successful.

(Xinhua News Agency October 24, 2006)