Ｆｉｒｓｔ Ｈｉｇｈ－Ｌｅｖｅｌ Ｆｏｒｕｍ ｏｆ Ｗｏｒｌｄ Ｍｅｇａ Ｃｉｔｉｅｓ Ｄｅｖｅｌｏｐｍｅｎｔ Ｈｅｌｄ ｉｎ Ｎａｎｔｏｎｇ

The first high-level Forum of the World Mega Cities Development cosponsored by the Boao Forum for Asia and the Nantong Municipal People’s Government was held in Nantong from September 26 to 27， 2004. High-ranking representatives from 43 cities in 25 countries and 15 cities in the Yangtze River Delta and cities in other parts of China gathered together in Nantong to discuss major issues that they were confronted and concerned about in the course of urbanization so as to promote exchanges and cooperation among and development ofcities and improve the theory and practice of the development of mega cities.

Gu Xiulian， vice chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress， Mr. Fidel V. Ramos， chairman of the Boao Forum for Asia Council and former Philippine president， Ms. Jenny Shipley， former New Zealand prime minister， Mr. Lee Soo Sung， former prime minister of ROK， Chen Jinhua， chief representative of the Boao Forum for Asia and former vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference， and Liang Baohua， deputy secretary of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the CPC and vice governor of Jiangsu Province， attended and spoke at the forum.

Also present at the symposium were Long Yongtu， secretary general of the Boao Forum for Asia， Tao Siliang， vice president of the China Association of Mayors， leading officials or representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs， the Ministry of Commerce， the Ministry of Construction， the Ministry of Communications， the General Administration of Customs， and other departments concerned and the representative of the chief of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region， as well as foreign and Chinese experts who do research on mega cities.

In his speech at the opening ceremony， Governor Liang Baohua said， urbanization is an important force to push forward modernization. The formation and development of mega cities have attracted great attention of economists and various countries in the world. At this forum with the theme of exchange and cooperation， the development of mega cities will be discussed in depth， which will definitely exert positive and profound impact on strengthening regional cooperation in the world and promoting urbanization and integration of regional economies.

Mr. Ramos， on behalf of the sponsors， said， in our time， mega cities are not only the showcases but also the nuclei of regional economic development. This forum will help solve our common economic， cultural， ecological and social problems. In their speeches， Ms. Shipley and Mr. Lee Soo Sung stressed that in order to carry out economic exchanges and cooperation among cities on the basis of equality， it is necessary to set up a platform， and this forum has provided a unique and valuable platform for us.

Gu Xiulian gave a warm speech. She said， in the course of the development of civilization， mega cities in the world are playing greater and greater roles in prosperity of countries and development of the world.Mega cities with huge radiating power and influence are an important force promoting economic globalization and regional economic integration， while they are， to a greater extent， influenced by the economic globalization and regional economic integration. With the aim of achieving mutual benefits and win-win results， to strengthen international and regional exchanges and cooperation has become a major task before us.

At the plenary session， Tang Dengjie， vice mayor of Shanghai， Ms. Daniele Defontaine， vice president of the Lille Metropole Communaute Urbaine of France， Mr. Ralph Anthony Jeffrey Mayer， chief executive of the Greater London Authority of the UK， Tom Cannon， British economist， Niu Wenyuan， Chinese economist， and Ding Dawei， mayor of Nantong，gave key-note speeches.

At the mayors’ roundtable meeting， participants had in-depth discussions on industrialization， informationalization and urbanization， as well as mega cities， administrative and economic division of the formation of mega cities， urban planning of mega cities， etc.， and reached extensive common understanding. The “Nantong Initiative” was declared at the meeting.

Mayors’ bilateral meetings were held in a lively atmosphere. Luo Yimin， secretary of the Nantong Municipal Committee of the CPC and chairman of the Standing Committee of the Municipal People’s Congress， met with participants from Lille Metropole Communaute Urbaine of France， Quebec and Montreal of Canada respectively. Ding Dawei， deputy secretary of the Nantong Municipal Committee of the CPC and mayor of the city， met with vice mayors of Washington D. C. and Los Angeles， secretary of external affairs for the City of Philadelphia and assemblymen of Victoria State of Australia separately.

The forum has three characteristics.

The first characteristic is its initiative. At this forum the development of world’s mega cities was studied for the first time in the world， and a platform and mechanism for studying the development of mega cities were set up for the first time in China. The forum with an initiative spirit has provided valuable experience for the intensive development of China’s economy and for internationalization and urbanization， and exerted positive impact on the development of mega cities in the world.

The second characteristic is its internationality. Guests invited to attend the forum came from all over the world and had a strong representation. Mr. Ramos， chairman of the Boao Forum for Asia Council and former Philippine president， Ms. Shipley， former New Zealand prime minister， Mr. Lee Soo Sung， former prime minister of ROK， readily came to attend the forum. Altogether 122 mayors and representatives from 43 cities of 25 countries were present at the forum.

The third characteristic is its diversity. At the forum there were various kinds of activities with rich contents. Fourteen events were organized and separately held in Beijing， Nantong and Shanghai， among which 10 events were held in Nantong. At the 2004 Nantong Fair of Port Economy and Investment held concurrently with the forum， achievements scored by Nantong in the reform and opening up in the past 20 years were publicized， ten Honorary Nantong Citizens and ten best foreign enterprises were commended， a ceremony celebrating the signing of 30 projects each with an investment of over 10 million US dollars and celebration of the centenary of the building of Nantong Port were held. On the evening of September 26， a gala “The Same Song and the Charm of Nantong” jointly sponsored by the Nantong Municipal Government and the CCTV was held and a display of fireworks was put on.

Ramos， Long Yongtu and other participants held， it is admirable and even “unthinkable” that Nantong， a medium-sized city， can hold such a large-scale and high-level international conference only afterfour months of preparations.