Meeting with NDRC and EU Delegation and Speeches at the 2017 EU-China Forum on Sustainable Urban Development
2017-03-20 | All chapters
On 20th March, the 2017 EU-China Forum on Sustainable Urban Development was launched at Putian, Fujian Province. This forum was hosted by the China Centre for Urban Development (CCUD) under the guidance of China National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). With the support from the Delegation of European Union to China (EUD), the Forum had the European Chamber, EUROCITIES, Joint Programming Initiative (JPI) Urban Europe as co-organisers and Putian People’s Government of Fujian Province as the implementer. The theme was Cooperation, Innovation and Practice.
The Deputy Secretary General of NDRC, Mr Fan Hengshan addressed at the opening ceremony. He pointed out that promoting the sustainable urban development was the wish and responsibility shared by both China and the European Union (EU). He further stated that, under the EU-China Partnership on Urbanisation, China and EU shall continue to expand and strengthen cooperation in a practical manner and the sustainable urban development would be a good bonding point for both sides.
The Minister Counsellor of EUD, Mr Laurent Bochereau also made remarks on the development of low-carbon cities through joint efforts by China and EU. He mentioned that both China and EU shall be devoted to the undertakings in promoting new model of urbanization, in order to reduce the influence of climate change on mutual development.
The Chamber’s Executive Committee Member and Vice Chair of Construction Working Group, Mr Massimo Bagnasco, addressed at the Keynote Speech I: EU-China Models and Mechanism. He made introduction on the Chamber first and highlighted the important role of member companies in China in promoting mutual development of China and EU. He further commented on the China’s recent development strategies and policies towards foreign invested enterprises (FIEs), as well as EU-China cooperation opportunities at industrial level, and called for new model for development, cooperation and investment between EU and China.
The Chamber’s National Chair of Construction Working Group, Mr Javier Lopez Zarraquinos, addressed at the Panel Discussion II: Practices on the Development of Low-carbon and Green Cities. He presented the Chamber’s Construction Working Group and its functions to the guests and other participants, followed by his remarks on components of low-carbon and green cities and relevant practices in Europe and China. He concluded his presentation by proposing a new sustainable mode for green cities through integration of urbanisation, life-science and industry 4.0.
On 21st March, the Chamber’s Working Group Coordinator, Mr Kevin Gao, participated in the field visits to Jiankou(涧口) Community, the pilot village in the new development model, and the Mazu Culture and Tourism Park, together with representatives from the EUD, EUROCITIES, CCUD and various local Development and Reform Commissions, led by the Putian People’s Government.