To further expand and deepen the pragmatic cooperation between China and Europe in the field of urbanization, the National Development and Reform Commission City and Small Town Reform and Development Center held the "2018 Sino-European Urban Sustainable Development and Intelligent Technology Innovation Forum" at the Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center in Tianjin today. As one of the thematic forums of the Second Smart Conference, the forum's theme was "Technological Innovation and Smart Manufacturing." City representatives, experts, scholars, companies, and media from China and Europe dialogues on technological innovation and smart cities. And exchanges promote the matchmaking of pragmatic cooperation projects and promote the sustainable development and common prosperity of cities in China and Europe.

"Those who do not seek forever, do not seek for a moment; those who do not seek the overall situation do not seek a single domain." Peng Sen, Deputy Chairman of the Finance and Economics Committee of the 12th National People's Congress and the former Deputy Director of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at the meeting that smart cities are long-term system projects that should design with a holistic view and the promotion of citys innovative application and construction should coordinate. He also emphasized that intelligent cities are people-oriented and should better use innovative technology to provide equalized public services for all urban residents.

Laurent Bochereau, minister-counselor of the EU delegation to China and representative of the EU Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, believes that a livable living environment and more cultural and educational learning opportunities will be created for urban residents. To achieve these goals, in his view, China and the EU have a lot of experience to learn from each other and face future challenges together.

Zhang Yuzhuo, member of the Committee of the Tianjin Municipal Party Committee and Secretary of the Binhai New Area District Committee, said that currently, the total annual net exports of the Binhai New Area and Europe had exceeded US$14.5 billion. The Tianjin China-Europe Advanced Manufacturing Industrial Park has been established. The future cooperation with EU countries in sustainable urban development is full of opportunities and promising.

Giovanni Brignon, Counselor of the Italian Embassy in China, shared: "We have seen the progress of smart city construction in full swing. Many cities are devoting themselves to modern city construction, system construction, and technological development to meet various needs in urban rise.

In 2012, the leaders of China and the EU signed the Joint Declaration on China-EU Urbanization Partnership, opening a new chapter in China-EU urbanization cooperation. Xu Lin, Director of the Center for Urban and Small Towns Reform and Development of the National Development and Reform Commission, recalled: "In the past five years, we have witnessed the blueprint for cooperation between China and Europe taking root and bearing fruit. Looking to the future, we will continue to strengthen our cooperation with the EU Build and strengthen such a cooperation platform."

Massimo Bagnasco, Vice President of the European Chamber of Commerce in China, pointed out that innovation is critical in sustainable urban development and improving the quality of economic growth. Innovation must also be coordinated with planning, and planning must also be committed to green development and improving people's well-being. He hoped that the Chinese people would enjoy more quality services in the sustainable development and urbanization development brought by the European Union.

Wang Guoliang, Director of the Tianjin Port Free Trade Zone Administrative Committee, stated in his speech that the China-EU Advanced Manufacturing Industrial Park is positioned to become advanced national manufacturing and research and development demonstration zone, a benchmark area for China-Europe regional cooperation, and a pilot zone for the development of high-end industries in China and Europe. The new engine for coordinated growth and a new national-level opening and cooperation platform will provide European investors with comprehensive infrastructure and investment environment services.

Li Tie, Chairman and Chief Economist of the National Development and Reform Commission's Urban and Small Town Reform and Development Center, gave a keynote speech at the conference. He believed that in the future China-Europe urbanization cooperation process, various innovations in smart cities should be regarded as the key to cooperation. New models, more exploration; to promote low-carbon, green, and sustainable development of cities through the study of sharing economy models adapted to technological changes; governments, enterprises, and cities in China and the European Union should jointly summarize the innovative city economy of both parties.

This forum comes from the European Union's Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, the European Chamber of Commerce, and European companies. China's urban development is an area of concern for the European side, and cooperation with China in this area is primarily technical cooperation in developing the market jointly. The outcome of this forum is that the European side has selected China's first China-Europe City Innovation Laboratory to settle in the China-Europe Advanced Manufacturing Industrial Park in Tianjin Binhai New Area Free Trade Zone. At the same time, six pairs of pragmatic China-Europe city projects were selected by China and Europe and jointly awarded by China and Europe.

In addition, several special events were held during the forum, with themes covering "international city cluster construction and the coordinated development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei," "smart city·smart technology innovation," and many other aspects. In addition, various pragmatic matchmaking activities such as the "China-EU Urban Sustainable Development Seminar," the "China-EU Innovation Project Practical Matchmaking Meeting," and the "China-Italy Aviation Industry Matchmaking Meeting" were held concurrently with the conference.

The forum also invited hundreds of people from Chinese and foreign government department representatives, city mayors, well-known domestic and foreign experts and scholars, representatives of world-renowned companies, and media representatives to attend the forum to share the sustainable development concepts and model models of Chinese and European cities, and exchange ideas between Chinese and foreign cities. The construction experience and practices and the promotion of best practice cases in the city.