Third High Level China-France Forum On Local Government Cooperation Held in Nanjing

The Third High Level China-France Forum on Local Government Cooperation jointly sponsored by the CPAFFC， the French Foreign Ministry and Le Comite national de Cooperation decentralisee (CNCD)， and organized by the Jiangsu Provincial Government and the Government of Alsace Region， was held in Nanjing from June 18 to 19， with the theme of “facing the challenges and realizing harmonious society and sustainable development”. This was a grand event of local government cooperation jointly held by the two sides after the previous Wuhan and Bordeaux forums. Leaders and representatives of local governments and organizations from 73 provinces/autonomous regions and cities of China and 64 regions and cities of France， totaling about 500， attended the forum， among whom 17 were governors and 45 mayors.

After the opening ceremony， there was a round-table meeting， special topic workshop， briefing on Chinese and French local governments’ cooperation， briefing on results of the special topic workshop and agreement on a final report. The closing ceremony was preceded by the presentation of the Award of Cooperation between Chinese and French Local Governments.

At the opening ceremony， Uyunqimg， Vice Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the NPC， spoke highly of the important role played by the cooperation among local governments in the development of a Sino-French comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership， and hoped leaders of the local governments of both countries， through the High Level China-France Forum on Local Government Cooperation， would maintain communications and dialogue， and further exchange experiences of local government administration， so as to bring their cooperation to a new high and consolidate the social basis for Sino-French friendship.

Chen Haosu， President of the CPAFFC， Zhang Weiguo， Deputy Governor of Jiangsu Province， Charles Josselin， President of the French Cities Union， Jacques Valade， Roving Ambassador for Asia of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs， and Gilbert Meyer， Mayor of Colmar also spoke. At the round- table meeting， Hua Jianhui， Deputy Governor of Anhui Province， Wang Zhuan， Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of Liaoning Provincial People’s Congress， Claudy Lebreton， President of the Assembly of Departments of France， Jean Germain， Mayor of Tours， and Jean-Paul Bachy， President of the Champagne-Ardennes Region， delivered speeches on the role of local governments in dealing with the financial crisis and strengthening social security， and the trend of Sino-French local governmental cooperation， and answered questions raised by the participants.

The special topic workshop drew 90 representatives from the two sides divided into four panels covering the environment， economy， society and cooperation between local governments. Li Jianping， Vice President of the CPAFFC， read out the Conclusion of the Third High Level China-France Forum， which was approved by all the participants by a show of hands， and signed by President Chen Haosu and Ambassador Jacques Valade.

In order to recognize the great achievements made by the local governments of China and France in their substantial cooperation in various fields， the forum conferred the Award of Cooperation between Chinese and French Local Governments on 12 pairs of friendship cities (provinces， regions) including Liaoning-Auvergne， Shandong-Loire， Anhui- Franche-Comte， Jiangsu-Alsace， Hubei-Aquitaine， Beijing-Paris Region， Shanghai-Rhone-Alpes Region， Shanghai-Marseilles， Wuhan-Bordeaux， Guangzhou-Leon， Hangzhou- Nice， and Changzhi-Brie. CPAFFC President Chen Haosu and Senator Jean Besson of Drome and President of the France-China Friendship Group of the Senate presented certificates and cups.

During the forum， a signing ceremony for the establishment of friendship cities between China and France， meetings between the leaders of the local governments， and between entrepreneurs of the two countries as well as a photo exhibition about cooperation were held. Folk artists of Jiangsu Province and the Alsace Region gave performances.

Forum topics were closely related to the global financial crisis. The participants exchanged detailed experiences of success in maintaining sustainable development of their cities and regions， and made many concrete suggestions on strengthening substantial exchanges and cooperation between local governments of the two sides.

The Conclusion approved at the Forum summarized the consensus reached at the meetings on environmental protection， economic development， social security and exchanges and cooperation， and put forward future targets and tasks of cooperation between local governments of China and France， such as holding special topic symposiums between forums， and establishing an evaluation mechanism for local government cooperation projects. It was decided that the Fourth High Level China-France Forum with the theme of “building up cities’ capability”， would be held in 2014 in France.