On 15. March 2017, the IUC (Component 1: city-to-city cooperation on sustainable urban development) was officially launched at the premise of the European Union Delegation to China and Mongolia in Beijing. Dr. Hans Dietmar Schweisgut, Ambassador of the European Union to China and Mongolia and Mr. LIU Sushe, Director General, Regional Economy Department at NDRC delivered opening speeches.
Representatives of the five new Chinese pilot cities gave presentations to introduce each city and their vision for EU-China cooperation under the IUC framework. The five cities are: Zhengzhou, Chongqing, Longyan, Shantou and Jingyue High-tech zone of Changchun city.
Afterwards, cities previously involved in World Cities programme also reviewed their cooperation results and shared experiences. Mr. ZOU Yong, Deputy Director General of Regional Economy Department at NDRC concluded the event by praising the well-established EU-China cooperation basis and expressing high expectations for the coming three years.
