by Rich Anderson, Senior Advisor to the Urban Water Council
August 13, 2001

A delegation of municipal officials from Xi'-an, China (pronounced She-ahn) attending a United Nations Conference in New York City June 9 made a special request to meet with Lynn (MA) Mayor Patrick J. McManus and Hempstead (NY) Mayor James A. Garner who visited Xi'-an last year. They also requested that the Mayors arrange a visit to the New York Organic Fertilizer Company (NYOFCo) plant in the Bronx to learn how to turn municipal sludge into agricultural fertilizer.

One year ago the U.S. Conference of Mayors lead a delegation of five Mayors on a multi-city tour of China to meet with their Chinese counterparts and discuss issues of urban economic development. The meetings in China resulted in the establishment of a Memorandum of Cooperation between the Conference of Mayors and the China Association of Mayors. The cooperative agreement calls for each country to alternate visits to each other's country, and hold seminars on topics of urban development and renewal. The Chinese Mayors have a special interest in how U.S. cities achieve such a high standard of living and quality of life.

Mayors McManus and Garner who led the US Mayoral delegation to China discussed a number of topics with the Chinese delegation. They also discussed plans for a U.S. tour by Chinese Mayors scheduled for the Fall.

The Chinese delegation included Mayor Feng Xuchu representing Xi'-an. Xi'-an has a center city population between 1 and 2 million people, and the wider city area has a population just over 6 million. While Xi'-an has a rapidly growing industrial economy, the vast majority of its residents are engaged in agriculture. The Mayor is very interested in "Best Practices" that take advantage of linkages between municipal wastewater treatment and the technology that turns municipal sludge into exceptional quality fertilizer product to support the agricultural base.

Mayor Feng sent top municipal officials to tour the NYOFCo plant. The delegation included: Wang Qiwen, Vice Secretary General of Xi'-an Municipality who also serves as Director of General Office of Xi'-an Municipality: Wang Xijing, Delegate of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China; and, Yi Xiang, Vice Director of Xi'-an Foreign Affairs Office.

Mayors McManus and Garner met Mayor Feng's delegation at a banquet following the plant tour. Both Mayors had met the Chinese officials last year in Xi'-an when The U.S. Conference of Mayors sent five Mayors on a multi-city tour of China. The U.S. Mayoral Delegation to China represented The U.S. Conference of Mayors in signing an historic accord with the China Association of Mayors to formally extend the cultural, information and technology exchange seminars begun in 1999.

The NYOFCo plant tour fulfills part of the information and technology exchange. This is a situation where Mayors help each other learn about environmentally friendly, cost-efficient and cutting edge technological approaches to solve everyday problems. The Xi'-an delegation will join the China Association of Mayors in returning to the U.S. later this Fall. They will be accompanied by Chinese entrepreneurs who want to learn more about the American marketplace and competitive practices.