Beijing conference highlights smart megacity governance for better life

BEIJING, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- A think tank conference focused on smart megacity governance for a better life opened on Sunday in Beijing, gathering over 200 experts and city administrators from home and abroad.

The 2025 Think Tank Annual Conference on Megacity Governance (Beijing) highlighted topics including digital transformation, sustainable development and improved public services, among others, for better urban futures.

The conference was organized by Xinhua Research Center for Digital Government and the Institute for Digital Government and Governance of Tsinghua University.

Fu Hua, president of Xinhua News Agency, said General Secretary Xi Jinping's important expositions on urban work and China's innovative experience in the governance of megacities have not only provided a theoretical paradigm and practical foundation for researching and constructing the studies of Chinese urban governance, but also offered important public goods for the world to solve the challenges in megacity governance.

Xinhua is willing to work with all parties to continue deepening research on the studies of urban governance, and contribute new and greater strength to continuously improving the governance capacity of megacities and promoting cities to better serve the people's all-round development, said Fu.

Yin Yong, mayor of Beijing, said Beijing has been continuously improving the level and quality of urban governance and providing responsive solutions to public needs, aiming to become a world-class, harmonious and livable metropolis.

Qiu Yong, Party secretary of Tsinghua University, stressed establishing a smart system for cities' digital transformation, advancing the low-carbon energy transformation for cities' green development, and building resilient and safe cities in a proactive way.

International experts also hailed China's megacity governance practices.

Zhu Juwang, director of the Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, said Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, have pursued a harmony between nature and human beings in sustainable city planning and management, offering the world inspiring examples. Enditem