中欧社会论坛 - China Europa Forum

The 12th meeting of the EU-China Round Table, co-organised by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the Chinese Economic and Social Council, was held on 11.12 April, in Brussels.

This Round Table takes place twice a year, alternatively in China and in Europe and is aimed at bringing together representatives of the European and the Chinese civil society to discuss and exchange ideas in order to develop and improve EU-China relationship. This Round Table co-chaired by Mr Staffan Nilsson, President of the EESC, and Mr FENG Guoqin, President of the Chinese Economic and Social Council, topics ranging from intercultural dialogue, trade, complementary indicators to GDP to urban development and sustainable development were discussed.

Mr CHEN Yan, Executive President of the China-Europa Forum was invited to take part in the panel held on 12 April which dealt with the implementation of the EU-China Partnership on sustainable urban development.

During this panel Ms ZHANG Youyun, Vice Chairwoman, China International Urbanisation Development Strategy Research Committee, highlighted that China should mainly learn from European experiences in the field of green cities and low-carbon cities; Mr Pedro BALLESTEROS, DG Energy of the European Commission, remarked that the Chinese urbanisation process is of paramount importance not only for China itself but also for the rest of the world mainly because of the scarcity of natural resources.

In his presentation Mr CHEN Yan reported the reflexions and exchanges drawn from the debates of the meeting on the Prospect of EU-China Urbanisation Cooperation held in Shanghai on 31 March and 1 April within the framework of the 2013 China International Urbanization Forum. He pointed out the significant efficiency of a multidimensional dialogue, the need for both China and Europe to draw lessons from the past and share their experiences and the need to enhance the role of cities and their citizens in the urbanization process. Mr CHEN Yan also emphasized the role of the China-Europa Forum as a NGO and a dialogue platform in the process of Sino-European cooperation in the framework of the EU-China Urbanization Partnership.

At the end of the debates of this 12th EU-China Round Table, all the panellists heartily recommended the development of these EU-China interpersonal exchanges and reminded the importance of involving more closely the civil society in this dialogue, especially in the process of building complementary indicators to GDP, and of promoting sustainable development and green economy. They underlined as well that EU-China cooperation in the field of sustainable urban development should be reinforced and enhanced.

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