On January 13, 2026, the online signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Cooperation between China’s Chongqing Rugby Association and the Tonga Rugby Union was successfully held via WeChat video conference.
The ceremony, which opened simultaneously at 5: 00 p.m. Tonga time and 12: 00 p.m. China time, lasted 30 minutes, using sports as a bridge to strengthen the new ties of sports and people-to-people exchanges between southwest China and Tonga.
This signing ceremony has a tight agenda and far-reaching significance. Dr. Unaloto Sili, Manager of Governance and Commercial Affairs of the Tonga Rugby Union, opened the ceremony with a welcoming speech, elaborating on the background and intention of this partnership.
Afterwards, the two sides introduced the core members of the meeting. Mr. Liu Chao, President of the Chongqing Rugby Association, Mr. Wei Jiasheng, Secretary-General, and Mr. Guo Hang, Manager of Marketing, attended the ceremony to witness this important occasion, along with Mr. Aisea ‘Aholelei, CEO of the Tonga Rugby Union, and Dr. Unaloto Sili.
During the speech, Chairman Liu Chao, on behalf of the Chongqing Rugby Association, looked forward to the vision of cooperation, clearly proposed the three core directions of focusing on the building of regional league IP in Asia and the Pacific, the cooperation of high-level sports teams, and the construction of high-quality rugby player training base, guided by the “One Belt, One Road” Initiative.
Chao stressed that the two sides will use rugby as a vehicle to deepen the potential of exchange and cooperation and create a new situation of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation.
As a country that regards rugby as a symbol of the spirit of the people, Tonga Rugby Union Chief Executive ‘Aisea explained the strategic value of the partnership, noting that it aligns well with the goals of rugby community sports in Tonga and will add new life into Tonga’s sporting sector.
At the heart of the ceremony, ‘Dr. Unaloto Sili gave a detailed introduction to the areas of focus of the memorandum. It covers a variety of dimensions such as rugby technical exchange, coaches and referees and administrative support, youth and women’s rugby development, community sports projects jointly developed, high-level competition and talent training channels, and plans a comprehensive blueprint for cooperation between the two sides. Then, Mr. ‘Aisea’ Aholelei and Mr. Liu Chao signed on behalf of both side respectively, and all the participants took a group photo.
Finally, representatives of both sides made separate concluding remarks, once again expressing their firm will to deepen cooperation and clarifying the direction of future work. With the completion of the official group photo taking and thank-you process, this online signing ceremony was successfully concluded.
This cooperation is another important breakthrough in the field of foreign exchange for the Chongqing rugby team after the best record in the history of the National Games, marking the official move of Chongqing Rugby to a new stage of international development.
At the same time, as the extension and deepening of China-Tonga sports technical assistance projects, this cooperation has injected a vibrant sports impetus into the friendly relations between the two countries, which will ignite more sparks between the spirit of mountain cities “climbing uphill” and the tenacious sports belief of the Tonga people.
In the future, the two sides will work together to advance the implementation of various cooperation projects, so that the rugby game can become a solid bridge connecting the people of China and Tonga, and jointly write a wonderful chapter of international sports exchange.
Source: Chongqing Rugby Association
