In July 2016, under the witness of President Xi Jinping and President Denis Sassou-Nguesso of the Republic of the Congo, Suzhou and Pointe-Noire officially established the friendship city relationship. This has been the first pair of international friendship cities witnessed by the presidents since Suzhou started the international friendship city exchanges.
On December 28, the training courses of the Sino-Congolese City Level Agro-pastoral Center for Remote Scientific and Educational Services (Zhenghe Center) officially opened.
The center was jointly established by the Municipal Government of Suzhou and the Municipal Government of Pointe-Noire. Under the guidance of Suzhou Foreign Affairs Office, it is operated by Suzhou Polytechnic Institute of Agriculture and the Municipal Agro-pastoral Bureau of Point-Noire. Regular online training courses for agricultural practitioners in Pointe-Noire are provided by relevant departments in Suzhou. With the “Suzhou Experience”, the courses aim to guide the agricultural production, teach agricultural techniques, and help to increase the local agricultural production and farmers' income. The participants of the training course include the local agricultural technicians and farm operators in Pointe-Noire. Experts from Suzhou Polytechnic Institute of Agriculture give online lectures to introduce the development of agricultural modernization in Suzhou, especially the high-efficiency vegetable cultivation.
