Zhuhai is preparing to tie the knot with Halifax, the capital of Nova Scotia, as its 14th sister city and second in Canada, looking forward to substantial communications and cooperation in multiple fields.

Deliberations of the government's proposal to further the relationship were conducted by the Standing Committee of the 9th Zhuhai Municipal People's Congress on Oct 26.

One factor considered was cross-promotion of each city's economic and social development, with expectations set by Zhuhai's first international sister city relationship with the southwestern Canadian city of Surrey. That relationship was established in July 1987.

Halifax is a major economic center along the Atlantic Coast with clusters of private-sector companies and a large concentration of government-oriented services.

The municipality was ranked by Canadian magazine MoneySense as the fourth best place to live in Canada in 2012. Additionally, it sits atop the list of "large cities by quality of life," and has ranked in the top 10 of North and South American cities in terms of business friendliness, as determined by fDi Magazine, a flagship publication of Financial Times Ltd.

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada [Photo courtesy Zhuhai Daily]

Halifax Harbor is a major cruise port and has generated value added of $104 million CAD ($82.1 million) in the cruise industry, according to statistics.

Zhuhai and Halifax have much in common in economic levels, trade, education, and port operations, yet have different but complementary industry advantages, and are therefore believed to enjoy broad prospects for cooperation.

The cities established contact in 2016, and have seen frequent high-level exchanges while enhancing interaction in education and business. They signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Strengthening Friendly Exchanges & Cooperation in August last year.