Shanghai hosts successful Global Cities Forum

Under the title "Embracing openness and cooperation for mutual benefit", the 2022 Global Cities Forum was held in Shanghai on Wednesday, serving as a platform for exchanges and collaborations between global cities, according to officials and experts who attended the event.

"Being the host of the Global Cities Forum, we expect to introduce the latest theories, practice and global experience on city governance to China and Shanghai," said Yang Zhenbin, Party secretary of Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Yang also hoped the international platform would share Chinese experience with cities across the world.

"This is the ninth year the Global Cities Forum was held in Shanghai. In the past nine years, the forum has become an event for promoting communication and dialogue between global cities, and discussions were carried out on key topics related to cities' economy, society, culture, environment and governance," said Wang Weiren, deputy secretary-general of the Shanghai Municipal Government.

The event has contributed wisdom for solving problems emerging in cities' development, as well as raising city governance standards, Wang added.

Initiated by the Development Research Center of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government, the Global Cities Forum was designed to expand the awareness of World Cities Day celebrated on Oct 31 every year.

World Cities Day is the first city-themed international day established by the United Nations, and the first international day initiated by Chinese authorities. As a legacy of the World Expo Shanghai, it was designated by the UN in 2013 and first celebrated in 2014.

The 2022 Global Cities Forum was organized by the Development Research Center of Shanghai Municipal People's Government, Shanghai Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, The United Nations Human Settlements Program and the World Bank. The event was hosted jointly by the China Institute for Urban Governance at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the School of International and Public Affairs at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and the Shanghai Coordination Center of World Cities Day.