San Francisco, Sept.22, (People's Daily Online) Zhu Xiaodan, governor of China's Guangzhou Province signed an agreement with California's governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. on Sunday to strengthen province-state friendship and cooperation.

Governor Brown said that more than 100 years ago, early immigrants from China's Guangdong made great contributions to the development of California with mining and building railways here. "This is the place for so many immigrants from Guangdong coming to the US even before the Gold Rush," said Brown. "California is still a gold mountain now, and the gold is Silicon Valley, which creates lots of imagination and creativity."

According to the agreement, the two states will deepen cooperation in science and technology innovation, low-carbon industry, environment conservation, education, culture exchanges, travel and other emerging sectors.

Zhu said that the agreement meant that Guangdong and California are joining hands for a brighter future. Both sides emphasize the close cooperation in low carbon development and environment conservation. "In response to Brown's initiative, Guangdong will try the best to cooperate with California in the next several years to push forward lowering carbon and developing clean energy which will benefit future generations of both sides," said Zhu.

Edwin Lee, mayor of San Francisco, Song Ru'an, vice Consul General of China's Consulate General in San Francisco and other representatives also attended the signing ceremony.

Mayor Lee announced that Guangdong's Nanfang Hospital and California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC) were to become sister hospitals.