As urbanization accelerates globally, the experience of resilient and innovative cities like Chongqing in southwest China is becoming increasingly relevant, offering valuable insights for urban development globally, according to international experts and policymakers.
The 2025 World Cities Day China Observance, themed "People-Centered Smart Cities Toward the Future," is taking place in Chongqing from Monday to Thursday. Approximately 1,200 guests from China and around the world are participating in the event, with many international representatives praising China's use of digital and intelligent technologies to drive urban development.
As a megacity with a population of over 30 million, Chongqing has in recent years been actively working under the principle of being a people-centered city.
How Chongqing is utilizing digital technologies to enhance housing, governance, infrastructure and public services is remarkable, UN-Habitat Executive Director Anacláudia Rossbach said in a video speech at the opening ceremony of the main event of the 2025 World Cities Day China Observance. Chongqing's experience provides valuable insights for megacities around the world, she noted.
Kazuko Ishigaki, regional representative of the UN-Habitat Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, has been impressed by Chongqing's intelligent water ecology sensing network, which integrates aerial, satellite and ground-based systems to achieve real-time digital monitoring and management.
"I was fascinated by how Chongqing uses digital and AI technologies for sustainable urban development," Ishigaki said.
The global population continues to urbanize at an unprecedented pace, and an ever-increasing number of people reside in cities.
The urbanization rate in China rose from 53.1 percent in 2012 to 67 percent in 2024, with the urban population increasing to 940 million, according to the Chinese Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. And Chongqing is a key example of China's urban construction.
"I was impressed by Chongqing's transport and logistics system. With a population three times larger than that of Belarus, mountainous Chongqing is so clean and well-organized," said Aleksandr Vladimirovich Shchekovich, head of the Administration of the Sovetsky District of Minsk in Belarus.
During his trip, he visited the Chongqing Planning Exhibition Hall and learned about the city's transportation marvels, including trains that pass through residential buildings. He also gained an insight into how Chongqing builds roads through mountains and bridges over rivers to bring convenience to its residents.
It's a huge achievement of the government, Shchekovich said, noting that everything seems to serve one purpose: the well-being of the people.
"From this visit, we have witnessed the remarkable growth of Chinese cities such as Tianjin, Hong Kong and Chongqing. We believe their approaches represent the future of urban development. Applying similar models, which are technology-driven, people-centered and solution-oriented, will help us save time and avoid unnecessary trial and error in the course of city modernization," said Torsak Chotimongkol, chairman of the Advisory Board to the Governor of Bangkok.
He noted that in the near future, he plans to establish a forum in Bangkok as a platform to study Chongqing's governance and development model.
Vuyo Mhlakaza-Manamela, deputy speaker of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature of the Republic of South Africa, also spoke of future cooperation between countries.
"We aim to foster city ecosystems that are safe, inclusive, resilient and sustainable. We will stay committed to deepening our friendship with Chongqing, and to strengthening cooperation among all cities of the world in pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals and a shared future for humanity," she said.
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Dieser Artikel ist neu veröffentlicht von / This article is republished from: Xinhua.Nez, 20-10.2025
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