The city partnership between Zurich and San Francisco was founded in 2003, launched by the San Francisco Initiative, a non-profit organization that was based on one committee each in Zurich and San Francisco. In 2013, the Memorandum of Understanding, which had been signed for the first time five years earlier by the two mayors at the time, was renewed: Mayor Corine Mauch and Mayor Edwin Lee reaffirmed their willingness to work closely together in various areas at City Hall in  San Francisco.

Zurich and San Francisco are perfect partner cities. They are similar and complementary in many ways; be it in the areas of ICT (information and communication technology), life sciences or the flourishing creative industries. Both cities face similar urban challenges. These include constantly increasing demands on infrastructure as well as the challenges of intercultural coexistence or high demand on the housing market, which is causing prices to rise and the availability of living space to become increasingly scarce.

In their exchange since 2013, the two cities have therefore placed a special focus on economic development and sustainable urban development in addition to the transfer of knowledge in the fields of research and technology and in specialist topics such as mobility and urban development. In addition to the cooperation of various universities, the exchange of students at high school or college level as well as cultural cooperation in both cities and the maintenance of a foreign studio in San Francisco for Zurich dancers, the two cities will join forces from 2017 for an exchange of public administration employees in various departments and for a start-up exchange program.