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On October 28th, the opening ceremony of the China home event for World Cities Day 2025 was held in Chongqing. Yuan Jiajun, Secretary of the Chongqing Municipal Party Committee, and Ni Hong, Minister of Housing and Urban Rural Development, attended and delivered speeches. UN Under Secretary General and Executive Director of the Human Settlements Programme, AnaClaudia Rosbach, delivered a video message. Mayor Hu Henghua of Chongqing Municipal People's Government attended and read out the results of the conference. Wang Jiong, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Chongqing Municipal People's Congress, and Cheng Lihua, Chairman of the Chongqing Municipal Political Consultative Conference, attended the event.

Yuan Jiajun welcomed all the guests to attend the conference in Chongqing in his speech. Chongqing will take this event as an opportunity to work together with all parties to deeply practice the concept of people's cities, explore a new paradigm of integrated intelligent governance in urban governance, cultivate dynamic new driving forces for urban development, build a new landscape of convenient and inclusive high-quality life, enhance the new beauty of green and low-carbon cities, create a new pattern of open and shared urban cooperation, and strive to make greater contributions to deepening inter city exchanges and cooperation and promoting global sustainable development.

In her speech, Ni Hong said that in recent years, the Chinese government has adhered to the principle of people's cities built by the people and people's cities for the people, deeply grasped the laws of urban development under the new situation, and insisted on planning cities as organic life systems, promoting historic achievements in urban development. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Rural Development will firmly establish and practice the concept of people's cities, with the theme of promoting high-quality urban development, adhering to the development of urban connotation as the main line, and promoting urban renewal as an important lever. It will vigorously promote the optimization of urban structure, the transformation of kinetic energy, the improvement of quality, the transformation of green color, the continuity of cultural context, and the enhancement of governance efficiency, firmly hold the bottom line of urban safety, and focus on building an innovative, livable, beautiful, resilient, civilized, and intelligent modern people's city. We are willing to work with the international community to explore practical experiences and innovative measures to promote sustainable urban development, deepen cooperation and exchanges in the field of housing and urban-rural construction, implement the United Nations' 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, and create a better future for people of all countries.

At the meeting, Kazuko Ishigaki, Regional Director of the Asia Pacific Regional Office of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, introduced the 2025 version of the "Shanghai Handbook -21st Century Urban Sustainable Development Guide". The conference released the "Report on Chongqing's Urban Independent Contribution to Implementing the United Nations' 2030 Sustainable Development Goals" and the "Chongqing Initiative for China's Home Event on World Cities Day 2025".

Gu Gang, Mayor of Changchun City, Jilin Province, and Wuyou Mracaza Manamela, Deputy Speaker of Gauteng Province, South Africa, delivered speeches, while Shrina, Mayor of Brisbane, Australia, delivered a video speech. Representatives from domestic and foreign governments, mayors and city representatives of relevant cities, experts and scholars, business people, and representatives of relevant international organizations also attended the relevant activities.

The main event of World Cities Day 2025 in China is jointly hosted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Rural Development, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, and the Chongqing Municipal People's Government, with the theme of "People's City Smart Future". During this period, a series of forums, themed exhibitions, and visiting and inspection activities such as the Global Urban Sustainable Development Mayors Forum will also be held.