A Guangzhou delegation led by Mr. Su Zhijia, Chairman of the Guangzhou People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) visited France, Portugal and Spain from December 3 to 12, 2015 on the invitation of UCLG, Lisbon City Council, Portugal and Barcelona City Council, Spain.

During their visit to France, the delegation attended the UCLG World Council Meetings, Executive Board Meeting and the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group Mayors Forum.

Mr. Su Zhijia, head of delegation made a keynote speech on behalf of Guangzhou at the meetings. He shared opinions on Guangzhou taking leadership role in urban innovation and released the news on the launch of the 3rd Guangzhou Award.

Urban Innovation Community, a UCLG committee led by Guangzhou, organized its first themed workshop, the Roundtable on SDGs & Urban Innovation, during which Mr. Su Zhijia, head of the delegation extended warm welcome to the present guests on behalf of Guangzhou. George Ferguso, Mayor of Bristol and Raymond Louie, President of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, gave speeches on how to achieve SDGs and how to cope with the challenge of climate change by means of urban innovation respectively.

Experts and representatives from different cities had a heated discussion on issues concerning SDGs, namely the combination of environmental protection and management, smart cities, culture and urban innovation.

The annual work report of Urban Innovation Community was also released and the sign-up procedure of the 3rd cycle of the Guangzhou Award was initiated.

During the visit to Portugal, the delegation attended the China (Guangzhou)-Portugal Trade and Investment Seminar hosted by the Guangzhou government, which strengthened cooperation of trade and investment between Guangzhou and European countries and cities. They also introduced major strategic platforms including Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone Nansha Area of Guangzhou and Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City, and encouraged competitive energy, transportation and logistics enterprises to enlarge their investment and trade in European countries such as Portugal.

Mr. Su Zhijia, head of the delegation, and Mr. Cai Run, China's Ambassador to Portugal and the Executive Director of AICEP made keynote speeches at the meeting.

Around 130 guests from Portuguese investment and trade organizations, the Lisbon City Hall, association of manufacturers, and various enterprises as well as business representatives from Guangzhou attended the seminar. During the visit to Lisbon, the delegation called on Fernando Medina, Mayor of Lisbon.

They exchanged their views on deepening pragmatic cooperation on trade and culture and enhancing friendship between the two cities. They also held discussions with Mr. Rui Lourido, Chairman of the Observatory for China and Mr. Vítor Ramalho, Secretary General of the Union of Portuguese Speaking Capital Cities, and signed the Memorandum of Understanding between Guangzhou Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. The delegation had a frank and in-depth discussion with senior staff of AICEP and Portuguese-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry on promoting investment and trade cooperation between Guangzhou and Portugal.

During the visit to Spain, the delegation attended the China (Guangzhou)-Spain Trade and Investment Seminar held by the Guangzhou government and AICEP. Mr. Su Zhijia, head of the delegation, Mr. Chen Yuming, Commercial Counselor of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Spain, and Mr. Jose Carlos Garcia de Quevedo, Secretary of Investment Promotion Bureau of Spain, attended the seminar and made keynote speeches.

More than 30 entrepreneurs from various industries in Guangzhou, including cross-border e-commerce, advanced manufacturing, modern service and constructional engineering communicated with managers from more than 50 well-known Spanish corporations, exploring cooperation opportunities in fields of e-commerce, logistics, energy resources, transportation, infrastructure, and food. During the visit to Barcelona, the delegation met Sitxe Cambra, Chairman of Port Authority of Barcelona, and together they inspected Port of Barcelona.