HOUSTON－An exhibition of more than 300 photos illustrating the ties between the sister cities of Shanghai and Houston kicked off in the United States on Wednesday, in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of China-US diplomatic relations.

The three-day exhibition, Trans-Pacific Exchange and Cooperation－Shanghai Commemorates the 40th Anniversary of China-US Diplomatic Relations, highlights stories about cultural exchanges, economic cooperation and friendship between the people of the two cities, as well as state visits and exchanges between officials from the two sides.

The photos are divided into five sections with sub-themes, including "having friends visit from afar", "mutually beneficial and win-win economic and trade cooperation", and "rich and diverse cultural exchanges".

So far, Shanghai, China's financial center and a key window through which to observe the country's reform and opening-up, has established sister-city relations with San Francisco, Chicago and Houston.

Paul Sheard, president of Tempe Sister Cities, a nonprofit organization in the city of Tempe, Arizona, says that the exhibition was "informative and very interesting" and "conveyed the message that it's a strong partnership "between Shanghai and its sister cities.

Sheard says he was impressed by Tesla's Gigafactory currently under construction in Shanghai. "I think it really shows the fact that the relationship is strong, especially in today's world."

With an investment of over 50 billion yuan ($7.3 billion), the Tesla factory is the largest foreign investment in a manufacturing project in Shanghai's history, and Tesla's first venture outside of the United States.

According to official statistics, Shanghai's goods trade with the US surged to 16 percent of the city's international trade volume in total in 2018, a remarkable rise from just 4.5 percent back in 1979, when China and the US first established diplomatic ties.

At present, there are more than 4,000 US companies operating in Shanghai among the 50,000 foreign firms in the city. The regional headquarters and the research and development centers built by US companies accounted for 28 percent and 26 percent of the city's total, respectively.