The council also agreed to allocate $25,000 in funding for the proposed state government Fujian Week, which would involve a large delegation from the province visiting the state in the second half of this year.   

Launceston will now enter a sister city arrangement with Putian by signing a ‘‘letter of establishment for friendship cities’’.   

The council also agreed to join the state government and Hobart City Council in facilitating joint initiatives with Putian City, Fuzhou City and Fujian Province.   

Mayor Albert van Zetten said he met Southern Tasmanian producers during his last visit to China who had been selling their produce in the region.   

‘‘It’s not just about the relationship [with the sister city] . . . but from that, if it’s done right and it’s done consistently, there will be these other business opportunities [for Northern businesses],’’ he said.   

Alderman Danny Gibson said he had concerns that the council did not have enough resources to ‘‘get the grunt’’ that was needed from relationships with sister cities.  

‘‘I note that this is part of a much broader Tasmania initiative and I’m very happy to support that, but through the lens that we should make really clear decisions as opportunities arise,’’ he said.   

‘‘[We need to] make sure that for potential $60,000 investment we are getting some returns this year and in the foreseeable future that justifies us spending money on that.’’   

Alderman Robin McKendrick said the relationships struck with other sister cities such as Napa, in the US, and Ikeda, Japan, were still having positive impacts for Northern Tasmania.   

Alderman Ted Sands was absent from Tuesday’s meeting, but earlier expressed his opinion that the council should focus on Launceston rather than committing to funding ‘‘with no guarantee of any real outcome’’.