Monroe, a small and medium-sized city in southern United States, with a population of about 55000, is the trade center of northeast Louisiana and southeast Arkansas. Monroe has a mild climate, convenient transportation, abundant education resources. The service and retail industry provide a large number of manufacturing jobs. Agriculture is also the strength of development in surrounding areas.

Jingzhou city and Monroe began to contact with each other in 1998, when Mr. Wang Xianhua, a Chinese American in Monroe, learned that Jingzhou had suffered from a heavy flood disaster and came to Jingzhou to help build a Hope Primary School in Libu town in Jingzhou District. After Mr. Wang Xianhua returned to America, he met with the mayor of Monroe and delegations of the congress to introduce the economic situation and investment environment of Jingzhou, and gave advices that Jingzhou and Monroe could establish sister city friendships and to strengthen economic cooperation. After that, both cities sent delegations to make friendly visit and know each other better and signed a memo of establishing sister city friendships and a memo of friendly exchange and trade negotiation.

In September 2006, Mr. Ying Daiming, the Secretary of Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee, led a delegation to visit America for attracting investment. He made a special trip to Monroe for friendly visit and received a warm welcome. Both sides decided that on the basis of equality and mutual benefits, both city promote the friendly exchanges between the people of the two cities and trade exchanges, actively carry out exchanges and cooperation in the field of science and technology, culture, sports, health, education, personnel and other areas.

The establishment of friendly relationship between Jingzhou and Monroe will help the two cities to promote exchanges and cooperation in the field of economic, science and technology, education, culture, and so on. It has great significance for mutual prosperity, enhancing the friendship between people of the two cities and enlarging Jingzhou's international influence.