The 2019 EU-China Forum on Urban Scientific Research and Innovation Industry Development was a great success!
On May 17th, the 2019 EU-China Forum on Urban Scientific Research and Innovation Industry Development(hereinafter referred to as the “EU-China Forum”) was successfully held in Tianjin Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center. In cooperation with the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission, the forum was organised by China Center for Urban Development(CCUD),Tianjin Binhai New Area People’s Government, Joint Programming Initiative Urban Europe and EUROCITIES, and was co-organized by Tianjin Port Free Trade Zone Administrative Committee. The forum was also given strong support from Delegation of the European Union to China, European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, “Horizon 2020” Urban-EU-China Innovation Platform on Sustainable Urbanization and Sino-Swedish Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre.
Themed by Intelligent Economy Leads Urban Development, the forum invited more than 500 European and Chinese city representatives, experts, high-tech and corporate leaders to discuss and exchange ideas around urban development of scientific research and innovative industry. The forum aimed to deepen China-EU cooperation in the fields of trade, finance, scientific research and innovation and high-end equipment manufacturing, so as to achieve the win-win results based on mutual benefit and mutual assistance. The forum mainly included four parts including the opening ceremony, keynote speech, release ceremony and high-level dialogue.
Welcoming remarks at the opening ceremony were delivered by Zhou xiaofei, Vice Secretary general of NDRC, Philippe Vialatte，Minister-Counsellor of EU Delegation to China, Shi Yulong, Director General of the CCUD and Zhang Yuzhuo, Member of Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee of Tianjin and Secretary of Binhai New Area.
Zhou Xiaofei, Vice Secretary-General of NDRC
Deputy Secretary-General Zhou Xiaofei said,centering on urbanization and industrial development, this forum explored a new development model of “Intelligent Economy Leads Urban Development” and the combination of technological innovation and new economic forms. The impact of this forum would be impressive and far-reaching.
Derek Vaughan, Vice Chairman of EU-China Friendship Group of the EU Parliament
Vice Chairman Derek Vaughan proposed that more people should be involved in the process of urbanization, so that residents could offer suggestions for the communities in which they lived. He also stressed the important role of urbanization in the international cooperation. He believed that with the “urbanization diplomacy” approach and through mutual leaning, the experience in advancing urbanization could be shared, mutual understanding could be promoted and a better urban planning and management could be in place so as to achieve the sustainable urban development.
Philippe Vialatte, Minister-Counsellor of EU Delegation to China
Minister-Counsellor Philippe Vialatte believed that urbanization was the most promising aspect of EU-China cooperation and research and innovation were important channels to overcome the emerging problems and challenges in the process of urbanization. In order to stimulate the fruits of EU-China urban scientific research and promote the effective application. we should think outside the box and enhance policy communication between China and Europe.
Shi Yulong, Director General of the CCUD
Director General Shi Yulong believed that, in exploring urban development driven by industrial innovation, China and Europe should rely on EU-China Urban Partnership and other cooperation platforms such as the “Belt and Road” Sustainable Cities Alliance to have an in-depth understanding of the needs of cities and enterprises in both sides and share the practice and experience in intelligent and sustainable urban development. He also said the two sides needed to work together to deepen the EU-China urbanization cooperation.
Zhang Yuzhuo, Member of Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee of Tianjin and Secretary of Binhai New Area
Secretary Zhang Yuzhuo said that a number of cooperation projects had been carried out between Chinese and European cities, and progress had been made in areas such as development strategy, urban spatial arrangement and intelligent transportation. He also mentioned that, relying on the platform of EU-China Strategic Urban Partnership, we should continue to expand and deepen China-EU pragmatic cooperation, promote sustainable urban development and strive to find common ground, so as to build Tianjin into a prosperous, livable, intelligent and sustainable modern coastal city.
Keynote speeches were delivered by Li Tie, Chief Economist of China Center for Urban Development(CCUD), Charlotte Roule, Vice Chairman of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China, Andreas Hube, General Manager of SAP Global & China Office and Yan Jun, Chairman of AIpark. Annemie Wyckmans, Associate Dean of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, introduced the progress of the EU–China Urban Research and Innovation Lab.
Launching Ceremony of projects of EU-China cooperation on sustainable urbanization.
During the forum, the release ceremony included four cooperation projects including the “Horizon 2020” Urban-EU-China Innovation Platform on Sustainable Urbanization and the city matchmaking events under the “Horizon 2020” EU-China Sustainable Urbanization. Also, Deyang Resilience Strategy Implementation Plan was also unveiled, and it was China’s first City Resilience Strategy Implementation Plan.
High-level Dialogue: Industrial Innovation and
Urban Development
In the High-level Dialogue themed by Industrial Innovation and
Urban Development, discussion was made by panelist including Gai Lin, Secretary-General of the EU-China Friendship Group of European Parliament, Philipp Agathonos, Counselor of the Science and Technology Section of the Austrian Embassy in Beijing, Zhang Zhenshan, UN–Habitat Programme Manager for China，Margit Noll，
Chair of the Management Board of JPI Urban Europe，Chen Jin, Professor at Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management and Director of Research Center for Technological Innovation of Tsinghua University，Baron Steven von Kohorn，Co-founder and Chairman of London StemLife Co., Ltd.
On the afternoon of May 17, two parallel events, namely, EU-China Seminar on Sustainable Development and EU-China City-Industry Partnership Seminar were held. At the EU-China Seminar on Sustainable Development, many experts and scholars from both China and Europe discussed under the topic of “Construction of Resilient Cities in the EU and China” and “The Future of EU-China Smart Cities”. At the EU-China City-Industry Partnership Seminar, CCUD and EUCCC jointly released the Manual on the Business Environment of EU-China Advanced Manufacturing Park in Tianjin and Policies Research Report. The report offered recommendations on enterprise support policy and the optimization plan for the construction of the Manufacturing Park. During the events, experts, scholars and entrepreneurs from both China and Europe, through intensive discussion, highly appreciated China and Europe’s confidence and determination in the process of optimizing the business environment and had high hopes on the development of the park.
The success of this China-Europe Forum was in the implementation of the guiding principles of Tianjin’s economic and social development under the guidance of Xi Jinping’s Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and the three key points initiated by Xi Jinping. The forum also gave full play to Tianjin’s important role as one of the first demonstration cities for China-EU regional cooperation. According to a responsible staff in the Tianjin Port Bonded Area Management Committee, the Tianjin Port Free Trade Zone,as a co-organizer of this forum, was accelerating the construction of the EU-China Advanced Manufacturing Park , implementing the “Horizon 2020” project and strengthening the exchange and cooperation between the bonded area and European companies. The Tianjin Port Free Trade Zone was cultivating a new engine for the coordinated development of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei region, comprehensively promoting cooperation between Tianjin and Europe in the areas of regional cooperation, economic and trade cooperation and industrial investment and actively strengthening the cooperation between Tianjin and European cities in the field of sustainable development,so as to promote the common prosperity of cities in the Central Europe.
Dozens of media such as Xinhua News Agency, CCTV, China National Radio, Economic Daily, China Daily, Xinhuanet, Sina.com and Caijing.com reported the event.
