The first annual flagship event of the Urbanisation Partnership between the European Union and China took place with the EU-China Mayors’ Forum which was held on 19th and 20th September 2012 in Brussels. The event was supported by high-level political authorities.

The Thematic Event “The EU-China Sustainable Urbanisation Park – From Concept to Reality” drew great interest amongst the participants.

The officials as well as entrepreneurs from the implementation level were also active in the thematic events of the Forum. “The EU-China Sustainable Urbanisation Park – From Concept to Reality” was one of the key events to present the only pilot project under the EU-China Urbanisation Partnership.

The main focus of the event was to facilitate and further encourage the exchange of experiences among decision makers, city planners, companies and NGOs. Moreover, the defined goal was the clarification of the practical requirements of all involved companies and organizations towards the EU and China in order to successfully meet the challenges of the upcoming urbanisation together. The improvements of the functionality and attractiveness of Chinese cities, energy conservation as well as the battle against climate change and environmental pollution are only a few examples for the targets of the urbanisation partnership which was initiated by the end of the last year. The intensive cooperation between the European Union and China offers numerous investment opportunities in the so-called “Middle Kingdom”. The pilot project “EU-China Sustainable Urbanisation Park” (SUP) which was presented in the Thematic Event “The EU-China Sustainable Urbanisation Park – From Concept to Reality”, will be built to showcase and implement all of the above ideas.

This Thematic Event, which drew great interest amongst the participants, took place on the 19th September from 9-12 a.m. The guests were warmly welcomed in the conference centre Albert Borschette. The host, Florian Schmied, CEO of ESI Euro Sino Invest which is in charge for the whole development from the investment process through construction and sales of the project, guided the participants through the varied program.

Ms Qiu Ai Jun, Deputy Director General of NDRC Centre for Urban Development, gave the key note speech.

Sun Li, Director of China Shenyang Municipal Government Trade & Economic Promotion Office in Europe, started with some information on the opportunities for European companies in the market of Shenyang. The next speaker Dr. Oliver von Sachs, Director of ESI Euro Sino Invest, gave the participants a first overview on the Sustainable Urbanisation Park which is the pilot project of the urbanisation partnership.

Especially by the visualizations of the scheme the participants of the workshop got realistic insights in this impressive construction project in the following detailed presentation on the design concept of the Park, which was held by Massimo Bagnasco, Managing Partner of Progetto CMR China and Chairman of the Construction Working Group of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China. At the end, Raphael Schoentgen, Chief Representative Officer of GDF Suez and Vice Chairman of the Energy Working Group of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, made a decent job in completing the range of topics by pointing out further market opportunities for European companies in China.

From left to right: Mr Laurent Javaudin (EU Delegation Trade Section Officer Energy & Sustainable Urbanisation), Mr Florian Schmied (CEO of ESI Euro Sino Invest) and Mr Davide Cucino (President of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC)).

Following the presentations, the participants of the workshop were given time to ask the present parties unresolved questions and to discuss the subject thoroughly. The Thematic Event “The EU-China Sustainable Urbanisation Park – From Concept to Reality” emphasized once again the importance of the Sustainable Urbanisation Park for the cooperation between the European Union and China and the resulting opportunities for all parties. Within the newly established relationship the Sustainable Urbanisation Park will be the key factor and the first demonstration project to fully implement the sustainable strategies for China's urbanisation.