The 7th China-Germany Urbanization Symposium was opened in Changchun City on October 29, 2019. More than 150 participants shared their expertise on the theme of “People-oriented Urbanization-Experience and Practice of China”. The Changchun Consensus was also released at the symposium.  

The symposium was sponsored by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and Knorad-Adenuer–Stiftung (KAS). Its first edition was held in Xuzhou, China, in 2013. Over the past six plus years, the government officials, experts, scholars and enterprise representatives from the two sides have conducted extensive, in-depth exchanges on such topics of industrial transformation, livable city, sustainable transportation, urban-rural integration and smart city. 

The urbanization rate of permanent population was only 10.64% in the early period of new China. However, according to Song Jingwu, Vice President of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, the figure had reached 59.58% by the end of 2018. “Over the past 70 years, China has experienced the largest and fastest process of urbanization in the history of the world,” said Song Jingwu, adding, “China has now entered a new stage of people-oriented urbanization for which equal importance is attached to both size and quality.” 

Germany has a longer history of urbanization, featuring equivalent value of urban and rural life. According to Mr. Rolf Reinhard,  the deputy director of economic affairs of German Embassy in China, German enterprises have leading environmental technologies and such enterprises also hope to participate in the process of urbanization. “We hope our technologies can help facilitate your urbanization,” the deputy director said, “China has taken a lot of measures in the past years to promote urbanization including e-travel. Your progress in the construction of smart cities has also set a benchmark for the future development of Germany.” 

On the same day, the experts from the two countries discussed the theme of “challenges against economic development and urbanization” and “urban environment construction”, and joined the counterpart cooperation conference.