Urumqi and Samarkand established 'sister city' relations

While China is conducting racial genocide against Turkic peoples, including Uyghurs in East Turkistan, Urumqi city established sister city relations with Samarkand, Uzbekistan, during the second China-Central Asia leaders' summit held in Kazakhstan last week.

According to a report by the so-called "Xinjiang Daily" on this matter, Urumqi and Samarkand signed an intention to establish sister city relations in August 2023, planning to promote exchanges and cooperation between the two sides in areas such as economy, trade, culture, education, tourism, and healthcare. During this leaders' meeting, both sides officially signed and established sister city relations.

According to Chinese news sources, from 1985 to the present, 54 foreign cities have established sister city relations with various cities in East Turkistan. Among these, Urumqi city has sister city relations with 14 cities in 12 countries.

As shown in the related table, currently one city each from the United States, Canada, and Turkey, two cities from Japan, and one city from Australia have sister city relations with different cities in East Turkistan, while the rest are cities from Russia, Iran, Pakistan, Belarus, Georgia, Mongolia, and Central Asian republics.

Through such diplomatic methods, China seeks to achieve great economic benefits on one hand, while on the other hand attempting to whitewash and conceal the racial genocide crimes in East Turkistan. However, in recent years, having recognized China's true intentions and choosing not to remain silent about the racial genocide crimes, some cities in the United States, Europe, and Turkey have cancelled their sister city relations with cities in East Turkistan and China.