The World Trade Center St. Louis (WTC) signed an agreement in Nanjing, China to increase trade, investment, and people-to-people relationships between the two cities.

The agreement was signed by the WTC and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade. The memorandum of understanding outlines a commitment to increase investment and cultural exchanges, the trade center said.

“This paves the way for us to expand our global footprint,” St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley said in a statement. “This is a job creator.”

The new trade pact was signed as part of Sister Cities International, an exchange program founded by President Dwight Eisenhower to help advance peace and prosperity through cultural, educational, humanitarian and economic development efforts.

The event in Nanjing is one of four stops on the trade mission to China led by the former U.S. Senator Kit Bond with Kit Bond Strategies and Dooley. The delegation will end their trip in Beijing.

On Monday, The Midwest China Hub Commission and the American Society of Transportation and Logistics signed a memorandum of understanding in Shanghai to work together on next steps to make Lambert-St. Louis International Airport a center for Chinese airfreight connections.

Formed in 2009, the focus of the Midwest-China Hub Commission is to develop cargo service routes to China and other international markets.

In September 2011, a weekly cargo flight from Shanghai to St. Louis began. The following month, the Aerotropolis Trade Incentive and Tax Credit Act, containing incentives to support the China Hub initiative, fell apart in the Missouri legislature. Shortly thereafter, China Cargo Airlines began canceling scheduled air cargo flights to Lambert.