On April 28, 2018, a brainstorming session was held by the Guangdong Asia-Pacific Innovation Economic Research Institute and the Guangzhou Institute for Urban Innovation on the theme of the 2018 Guangzhou International Urban Innovation Conference. 

Experts from research institutes and universities as well as media professionals were invited to share their suggestions. Concepts such as openness, inclusion and urban identity were key words of the session. The attendees reached an agreement to make the Conference a diverse and far-reaching event involving different stakeholders.