UN-Habitat and China Host the Exquisite City Forum

Weihai, China 12 June 2023 – UN-Habitat, in collaboration with the People’s Government of Weihai Municipality and Shandong Provincial Department of Housing and Urban-rural Development, held Exquisite City Forum from 12 to 13 June 2023, aiming to review its exploration of building the exquisite city, exchanging with other similar cities on how to develop the sustainable urban development, and promoting the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the New Urban Agenda.

This forum is held at the time of the 20th anniversary of Weihai being awarded the UN-Habitat Scroll of Honor for its outstanding contribution to sustainable urban development. Weihai City has been proactively seeking to integrate continuous economic and social development with lucid waters and lush mountains for residents’ well-being.

In her letter of congratulation, Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Executive Director of UN-Habitat and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, highlighted Weihai’s significant achievements in the field of sustainable human settlements. Its valuable case of "Building an Exquisite City with Green and Warmth" has been selected in the "Shanghai Manual 2022”, which is a valuable experience worth sharing with other cities and readers around the world.    

Siddharth Chatterjee, UN Resident Coordinator in China, stated that sustainable urbanization means finding a balance between economic growth, social inclusion, and environmental protection. To achieve this goal, governments, civil society, academia, the private sector and international organizations are brought together to ensure the equitable sharing of the benefits of sustainable urbanization both between and within nations, guaranteeing that no one is behind.

Bruno Dercon, Officer-in-Charge, Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific of UN-Habitat, delivered the keynote speech that UN-Habitat supports member states and cities to harness innovation for a better urban future. Cities are on the frontline to provide new digital services and make sure all people, including the elderly and children, could use digital services and platforms. UN-Habitat collaborates with local governments and the private sector to understand how cities are responding to the digital transformation and automation trends.  

Jianbo Yan, Secretary of the CPC Weihai Municipal Party Committee, summarized that Weihai City focused on the integrated system for exquisite planning and design, governance and public service with innovative solutions. He expected the meeting participants’ recommendations and multilateral collaborations to make Weihai City a better future.

Three parallel sessions were held in the afternoon, focused on “Habitat Festival and Architectural Design”, “Enterprises supporting high-quality urban development”, and “Efficient governance with the CPC red property, jointly building and sharing a better community”.