He was among those who attended a meeting last month between Bathurst councillors and business leaders and Yangquan mayor Yibin Dong and his delegation.

The Chinese delegation were in Bathurst to talk business, economy and education, and how the two cities can work together to benefit each other.

The meeting came following Mr Jenning’s self-funded fact-finding trip to Yangquan in late 2014 when he met with government and trade officials.

So keen was Mr Jennings for Bathurst to build a relationship with Yangquan, that he held 27 meeting in 14 days during the visit.

And, while he may no longer be a Bathurst councillor, he said the delegation’s visit was the next step in building a closer relationship between the two cities.

“It was rewarding and satisfying to see all of a sudden there was half-a-dozen people in our [council] chamber saying they want to talk to us,” Mr Jennings said.

He said working closely, not just with Yangquan but also China, would bring economic development to Bathurst and help grow new markets for the city’s businesses.

“Our community should look at initiating trade with China,” Mr Jennings said.

“Economic growth for our town [will help] to keep ourselves competitive in an increasingly global world.”

Through a translator, Yangquan mayor Dong told Bathurst councillors and business leaders at the meeting that he looked forward to working together.

“Our delegation came back to get a better understanding of Bathurst and would like to get new information to become the sister city in the short term future,” he said.

Mr Jennings said during the visit that mayor Dong had committed an educational group of 12 students to visit Bathurst this July.

“A dozen students, and possibly their family, [will come] to see that Bathurst is safe, has good education and is family-friendly,” he said.

The group will be made up of high school and tertiary students.

Following this, Mr Jennings said he was hopeful it would lead to more students studying in Bathurst and an increase in tourism to the city.