COLLECTION OF ARTI论坛文集CLES People to People Exchange Serving Urban Development - keynote speech on 2013 Beijing International Forum on People to People Friendship BPAFFC Executive Vice President Li Xiaoqiang Ladies and gentlemen, friends: Good morning. The theme of 2013 Beijing International Forum on People to People Friendship is" Highlighting Urban Construction by People-to-People Cooperation and Promoting Social Prosperity by Cultural Exchanges." Around this theme, we get together with international friends from five continents, 23 countries, and 76 agencies to join hands, to exchange experiences, to share results, to discuss cooperation, and to seek common development. I would like to take this opportunity to talk about my views about that local friendship association serving the city construction and development. As a mark of mankind’s civilization mileage, the city has already 5,000 years of history in the world. World Urbanization and urban modernization have made a tremendous and far-reaching impact on the economy, society and culture, and have promoted human civilization and progress. However, during the process of urbanization, there have been different kinds of "urban disease”, such as environmental pollution, traffic congestion, population growth, energy shortages, and difficulties in finding jobs. China that is the biggest developing country with the rapid development of urbanization, in the process of urbanization , has also undergone some problems that a number of countries ever had, while at the same time, some new problems of development, like unscientification of urban planning , irrationality of industrial structure, the uneven distribution of educational resources , etc. appeared in China. For this reason, China and the world have been searching constantly for ways and means of solving, researching new problems that may appear in the process of urbanization, and learning experiences and lessons from each other, in order to jointly strive to solve the difficulties and problems during urban construction and development. The Beijing International Forum on People to People Friendship does exactly create a platform for non- governmental organizations and research institutions in the world, in order to exchange experience in urban construction and management for everyone through this platform, to explore results of educational and cultural exchanges with international countries, to conduct constructive dialogue on folk culture ,to concerns commonly modern urban development, through international non-governmental friendly exchanges and cooperation. The Beijing People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries is a people's organization engaged in the work of non-governmental friendly exchanges with foreign countries in Beijing. Based in Beijing, minding the country, looking at the world, we actively commit to enhancing understanding and friendship between Beijing people and peoples from every city around the world and promoting mutual exchanges and cooperation. After strategic goals of constructing World Cities with Chinese characteristics was proposed in Beijing , the Beijing People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries pay more attention to develop characteristics and advantages of mass , breadth and flexibility for non-governmental foreign exchanges , and strive to contribute to the development of Beijing city . First, learn from experience of other countries. Stones from other hills may serve to polish jade. Many countries have accumulated wealthy experience and results in the construction and management of modern city. We use the 1 2013北京国际民间友好论坛 2013 Beijing International Forum on People to People Friendship advantage of non-governmental contacts with foreign countries, to " go out" to send environmental group delegation, to visit Japan, Singapore advanced environmental experience and waste treatment technology, to propose comments and suggestions for achieving waste resources , reduction and harmless of waste treatment. Besides, economic and trade delegation and other professional groups visit to introduce the Beijing economic and social development, so as to promote capital business into the world and attract foreign companies to enter Beijing. Through participating in the United Nations Climate Change Conference, Conference on Sustainable Development, Social Development, and other international conferences, we draw on national development experiences, exchange the problems and solutions that need to focus on during building the world's cities. In addition, we keep positively the principle of "Please come in", and repeatedly serve official head from famous enterprises in the world, to play the role of bridge and link for promoting the development of the capital. Moreover, various international exchange activities are organized, attracting international civilian organizations and agencies to come in China to share experiences and results. Today this forum is that platform we strive to create to provide suggestions and ideas for urban development. I, as the first one of the main forum speakers, hope to set the ball rolling, and so national experts can provide suggestions for urban development of China and Beijing. The second is to show our own characteristics. Throughout the history of the evolution of the cities in the world, it can be seen that the form of cities in the world is the result of co- promoting and interacting of politics, economy and culture. Beijing, a 3000 years of famous historical and cultural city, has a history of 800 years as capital, whose unique character is underlined by distinct capital culture. We should put the Chinese culture and Beijing sign into the construction of city in the world, to let the city own its own soul. In recent years, we have organized several folk artists to visit the United States , France, Germany , Indonesia, Thailand and other countries, organizing paper cutting , kites, figurines , painting pots inside snuff and other activities, introducing history and artistic features of Beijing traditional handicrafts , and demonstrating production process, so that we can give foreign friends close understanding of Chinese outstanding folk art. Today, outside the main conference there are also six on-site production projects, such as snuff bottles, figurines, painted faces, egg carving, straw, paper cutting and so on, and everybody can take some time to go and see the wonderful performances of folk art masters. We send group delegations major in pictures to USA, UK, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, Greece, Austria and other countries, to conduct traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy exhibition to carry out painting exchanges with foreign friends. International Softball Exchange Conference, International Taijiquan Exchange Conference are held in Beijing, and opera, Kunqu exchange activities , etc. are organized, which, through cultural exchanges , show cultural flavor and humanistic ideas of Beijing, and explore cultural quality image of Beijing in construction into World City. Third is to provide different perspectives. in order to build Beijing to the city of gathering international events, the city of the centre for high-end enterprise headquarters, the city of attracting high-end talent aggregation, the city carrying the advanced socialist culture with Chinese characteristics, a harmonious livable capital city, it not only needs to be open and inclusive, good at learning, but also play our own advantage, highlight Chinese characteristics. Non-governmental international exchanges should be able to accept cultural traditions, ways of thinking and diverse perspectives of different communication objects, focus on personalization of communication, emphasize "harmony in diversity." We aim to let civil society organizations and international agencies from the world, from different perspectives, exchange experience in urban development, explain the direction of development of urban construction in the world, integrating wisdom of world, look for meeting point between Chinese historical and cultural heritage and modern urban development. In recent years, during series of activities, Chinese Classics • Beijing culture and world culture Lecture, we have organized, we have invited Chinese and foreign experts in various industries to show research 2 COLLECTION OF ARTI论坛文集CLES results and carry out interaction from different perspectives, different directions, so that exchange of ideas can collide sparks of wisdom. We organize foreign friends into the factory, into the community, into the rural areas, and organize frontline staff of district to visit and exchange in foreign countries. Every year we conduct exchanges of American and Chinese students, student exchanges in Japan, South Korea and China, anime exchanges in Japan and China and other activities, which provides multi-level, multi-angle development experience for the construction of world city of Beijing, through a wide range of non-governmental exchanges. Beijing International Forum of non-governmental friendship is a future-oriented forum, which should be regarded as a new platform for practical cooperation and a new bright spot of non-governmental international exchanges by National civil society organizations and international agencies, highlighting the exchanges and cooperation, and sharing successful experience. To this end, I want to make the following recommendations about international non- governmental exchanges concerning Urban Development of the world: First, to