SOURCE / PRESS RELEASE
China-CEEC Mayors Forum held in Ningbo
Published: Jun 09, 2021 10:08 PM
 
The China-CEEC Mayors Forum was held in Ningbo.  Photo: Courtesy of the publicity department of Ningbo

The China-CEEC Mayors Forum was held in Ningbo. Photo: Courtesy of the publicity department of Ningbo



As an important event listed by the China-CEEC summit, the China-CEEC Mayors Forum was held on Wednesday afternoon in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang Province.

This forum was held against the backdrop of a global COVID-19 pandemic that has yet show signs of abating, and there remain restrictions on place preventing people to travel from various countries. 

With this in mind, the event was held using a combination of online and offline methods. Consular officials from 11 countries in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as mayors, deputy mayors and relevant department heads from 11 provinces and 34 cities across China, and representatives of local friendship associations attended the meeting in Ningbo, including Qiu Dongyao, deputy secretary of the Ningbo Municipal Party Committee and the mayor, Jiang Jiang, vice president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, Huo Yuzhen, Special Representative for Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries, and other Chinese leaders.

Mayors, deputy mayors, representatives of mayors and department heads of more than 50 cities from 17 Central and Eastern European countries, as well as representatives of associations, participated online through a video conference system.

Qiu Dongyao, deputy secretary of the Ningbo Municipal Party Committee and the mayor. Photo: Courtesy of the publicity department of Ningbo

Qiu Dongyao, deputy secretary of the Ningbo Municipal Party Committee and the mayor. Photo: Courtesy of the publicity department of Ningbo



Qiu delivered a keynote speech titled "Joining Hands for Development, Composing a New Chapter for Win-Win", introducing Ningbo's efforts to actively participate in China-CEEC cooperation in recent years to build a stronger platform for cooperation, effective communication channels, and promote cross-city cooperation. The speech also proposes that cities in China and Central and Eastern European countries unite and seek common development in fighting the pandemic, promoting economic and trade cooperation, optimizing the business environment, and expanding exchanges between sister cities.

Huo Yuzhen fully affirmed the positive role played by local cooperation for China-CEEC cooperation in her speech. Huo spoke highly of Ningbo's efforts to promote exchanges with sister cities in Central and Eastern European countries, and advocated pragmatic cooperation, innovative thinking and complementary trade between all parties, as well as to jointly increase China-CEEC cooperation and promote the development of China-EU relations.

Jiang reviewed the achievements made by China and CEEC in local cooperation since the launch of the China-CEEC cooperation mechanism in his speech, especially the fight against COVID-19, and advocated that all parties strengthen policy communication, explore economic complementarity, and seize emerging business formats. He also proposed to enhance people-to-people and cultural exchanges, help each other's development, and make unremitting efforts to promote friendship and world peace and prosperity for all countries.

In a video speech, Waldemar Pawlak, former Prime Minister of Poland spoke highly of the China-CEEC cooperation mechanism which brought economic opportunities, and expressed support for China-CEEC cooperation.

The China-CEEC Mayors Forum is one of the three major local cooperation forums under the China-CEEC Cooperation Mechanism. Since 2017, it has been co-sponsored by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Ningbo Municipal Government. It has been successfully held on four times. The forum aims to promote urban dialogue and non-governmental exchanges between China and Central and Eastern European countries, so as to deepen mutual understanding, enhance people's friendship, and promote practical cooperation.