The Chinese city of Tianjin hosted the international forum “Global Mayors Dialogue – SCO Summit Cities.” The meeting was organised in the lead-up to the autumn Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, which will also be held in Tianjin. This was reported by
China Daily, a partner of TV BRICS.

Forum topics included transport, urban infrastructure, technology, investment, cultural ties, and green development. Opening the event, Wang Xu, Vice Mayor of Tianjin, emphasised that participants could improve governance quality and make life in cities more convenient.

He stressed the need to jointly build smart, efficiently managed cities by using “urban brains,” big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence to enable better smart governance.

He also noted that Tianjin has already launched routes to Tashkent, Minsk, and other cities in SCO countries and is actively developing e-commerce and digital trade.

“We also hope to establish a convenient digital trade platform with SCO member cities to engage in commercial logistics cooperation and supply chain collaboration,” he added.

Aleksander Beglov, Governor of St. Petersburg, addressed the forum in a video message. He noted that the city has cooperation agreements with six Chinese regions, with trade turnover growing and new investment initiatives being implemented.

“We are discussing projects in transport, technology, and tourism; many of them are now under the SCO framework. […] St. Petersburg is open to cultural projects and humanitarian cooperation,” Beglov said.

He also proposed the creation of an SCO Centre of Competence for technology exchange, noting that it would help improve the effectiveness of urban management, open new opportunities for economic development, and enhance people’s quality of life.

Rashid Alimov, former Secretary-General of the SCO, also shared his views.

“Since its founding, the SCO has become the world’s largest transregional organisation, influencing politics, economics, and culture far beyond Eurasia,” he said.

Aibek Dzhunushaliev, Mayor of Bishkek, emphasised that dialogue between cities lays the foundation for people-to-people diplomacy and is key to sustainable development.

Forum participants visited Tianjin Port, which connects China with Central Asia and over 180 countries and regions. Sherzod Faiziev, Deputy Director of the International Institute for Central Asia (Uzbekistan), said he was particularly impressed by the port’s business environment and expressed hope that it would become a key logistics hub between China and Eastern and Central Asia.

Participants also agreed that cities play a crucial role in strengthening ties among SCO countries and improving quality of life.

Photo:
China Daily