Chongqing—On May 22, at the opening ceremony of the Chongqing International Friendship Cities Cooperation Conference 2024, Chongqing, Sacramento, the NBA's Sacramento Kings and MEBO Group signed a quadripartite agreement to launch a youth basketball project in Chongqing. This initiative aims to foster more people-to-people exchanges. Antonio Yung, the envoy of the City of Sacramento China Office, shared his feelings and expectations regarding this initiative.

Antonio Yung highlighted that the friendly cooperative relationship between Sacramento and Chongqing has been ongoing for 11 years. Eleven years ago, they chose Chongqing as the location for the California State Capital's office in China because they recognized the city's great potential and promising prospects. Over the years, Chongqing has made significant strides in international relations, which is very encouraging.

Chongqing, Sacramento, the NBA Sacramento Kings, and MEBO Group launched a youth basketball project. (Photo/California Capital - Sacramento China Office)

John Rinehart, President of Business Operations for the Sacramento Kings, emphasized the importance of their partnership with MEBO Group. He stated that both parties share a vision of using the NBA's global platform to impact worldwide and improve people's lives positively. In July, they will host a youth community event, using basketball as the core to enhance the youth's health, leadership, activity, cooperation, and teamwork. He believes that basketball is a global sport. Through partnerships like the one with MEBO Group, they can promote basketball culture beyond the United States, showcasing its benefits for youth and its ability to bring people together and provide global entertainment.

Furthermore, the MOU commits to bringing some Chinese immigrant students from Sacramento to Chongqing to interact and engage with local children. Antonio Yung stressed that this is not just about basketball training but also about cultural exchange, using basketball as a platform to promote more people-to-people exchanges.

On May 23, the 2024 California (Sacramento) - Chongqing Clean Energy Investment Cooperation Matchmaking event was officially held in Chongqing. Antonio Yung stated that clean energy and climate change are crucial topics agreed upon by the leaders of both China and the United States, requiring partnerships to succeed. Sacramento aims to become the first city with a net-zero emissions power company by 2030, and they hope to establish partnerships with Chongqing businesses in this area.

On May 23, the 2024 California (Sacramento) - Chongqing Clean Energy Investment Cooperation Matchmaking event was officially held in Chongqing. (Photo/Zhou Junjie)

Paul Lau, Chief Executive Officer & General Manager of Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), also commented that Chongqing is very advanced in the fields of batteries, long-duration batteries, and electric vehicle batteries. Through this visit, he hopes to learn about the latest technological developments to help the United States, especially Sacramento, transition to a clean energy future. He mentioned that both sides hope to develop pilot projects, such as new charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, and he hopes that Chongqing's technologies and companies will invest in the United States, helping to introduce these markets to the United States.

Antonio Yung also stated that in the future, cooperation between Chongqing, California, and Sacramento in the field of clean energy will bring opportunities for two-way trade, collaboration, and education, working together to achieve clean energy and sustainable development goals.

Through this cooperation, the partnership between Chongqing and Sacramento in various fields, such as basketball culture and clean energy, will be further deepened, bringing more opportunities for exchange and development to both regions.

(Zhou Junjie, as an intern, also contributed to this report.)