Mayors vow to boost friendship of cities

Mayors and representatives from 26 cities in 22 countries attend the Global Mayors Dialogue and the 2025 Shanghai International Friendship Cities Cooperation Forum in Shanghai on Thursday. (GAO ERQIANG/CHINA DAILY)

Around 100 representatives, including mayors, from 26 cities around the world gathered in Shanghai on Thursday at the Global Mayors Dialogue and the 2025 Shanghai International Friendship Cities Cooperation Forum to discuss green, low-carbon empowerment and inspire youth vitality for sustainable urban development and city innovation.

While attending the gathering, the representative from 22 countries on five continents said that cities across the globe should join hands to find solutions in these areas in order to address the challenges now faced by humankind, and turn the challenges into opportunities.

The event aims to ignite inspiration among attending mayors and representatives to craft tailored solutions for their respective cities, and to provide a global outlook on tackling shared urban challenges.

Expanding network

Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng said that having established friendship city relationships with 95 cities in 59 countries, Shanghai will continue to expand its network of friendship cities, explore new modes of cooperation and elevate exchanges and cooperation to a new level.

"Focuses will include expanding economic and trade exchanges to achieve a higher level of mutually beneficial cooperation, promoting transformation and upgrading to achieve higher-quality green development, strengthening scientific and technological collaboration to achieve stronger innovative development, and enhancing mutual understanding to realize deeper people-to-people bonds," Gong said.

Also on Thursday, Shanghai signed a letter of intent for friendly cooperation and exchanges with Vientiane, the capital of Laos, as well as a memorandum of understanding on the establishment of friendly exchanges with Tbilisi, Georgia.

Athsaphangthong Siphandone, governor of Vientiane, said that Shanghai and Vientiane are expected to enhance collaboration, especially in green and sustainable initiatives, a development pathway that Vientiane has prioritized.

Andria Basilaia, deputy mayor of Tbilisi, said that with the city's tourism department currently participating in another activity in Shanghai, and its education department participating in an event in Beijing, he expected the city to have more positive cooperation projects with Shanghai as well as beyond.

Regarding green development, Michele Rubirola, first deputy mayor of Marseille, France, said that Europe aspires to become a region that plays a catalytic role in global transition and works with cities in the Global South to pool knowledge, co-build solutions and invest in the infrastructure of the future.

Jucelia Oliveira Freitas, vice-president of the Legislative Assembly of the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, said that Brazil, home to the world's largest tropical rainforest and some of the richest biodiversity on Earth, attaches great importance to natural assets and constructing relevant trade markets.

"The carbon credit market has become a realistic option for many Brazilian enterprises. By using this economic tool, they achieve their compensation and conservation goals. This measure is particularly important, considering that more than 60 percent of Brazil's land is covered by native vegetation," she said.

In November, Brazil will host the 30th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP30, in Belem, a city in the heart of the Amazon rainforest. "This conference, which will focus on cities and regions directly affected by climate change and showcase their concrete solutions, will be a milestone for the whole of Latin America and the Global South," she said.

Youth vitality

The mayors and international guests also said that sustainable cities must be co-designed with the next generation, and urban innovation is about creating ecosystems of belonging, opportunities and shared ownership.

"We don't just ask youth to be the future. Instead, we invite them to build it with us now," said Victoria Woodards, the mayor of Tacoma, Washington, in the United States.

The Mayor's Youth Commission of Tacoma is an example, she said. Established to amplify the voices of young people, the commission is made up of high school students who advise city leaders on policies that affect their lives. They tackle topics like climate justice, mental health, housing and civic engagement, ensuring that the city has their values and vision at its core.

Merja Narvo-Akkola, deputy mayor of Espoo, Finland, said that Espoo is a pioneer in youth participation in city governance. The voices of young people are heard and they matter, she said.