On the morning of January 13, 2024, the “Innovation for Global Urban Governance: Qianhai Forum” unfolded in the No. 3 Harbor Lecture Hall at the Qianhai International Talent Hub, Shenzhen. This groundbreaking event, co-hosted by Shenzhen University’s School of Government, Shenzhen Global Megacity Governance Research Institute, and Peking University’s Urban Governance Research Institute, drew over 40 distinguished guests from leading universities, government departments, and research institutions.
Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Prof. Weixing Hu, and Prof. Bo Wen, the Associate Professor in the Department of Government and Public Administration, were invited to represent the institution at the forum. Other prominent academic institutions represented included Peking University, Sun Yat-sen University, Tongji University, Shenzhen University, Guangzhou University, The University of Hong Kong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, The City University of Hong Kong, University of Macau, and Macau Polytechnic University. The governmental and research sphere was equally well-represented, featuring attendees from the World Association of Major Metropolises, the Ministry of Civil Affairs Policy Research Center, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Energy Conservation and Scientific Division, the China Society for Social Governance, Shenzhen Qianhai Cooperation Zone Party Working Committee, and the Macau Development Strategy Research Center.
The Forum’s illuminating speech session, orchestrated by Professor Wen Chen, Party Committee Secretary of Shenzhen University’s School of Government and Executive Director of the Global Megacity Governance Research Institute, featured insightful contributions from Jinxia Wang (Member of the Qianhai Cooperation Zone Party Working Committee and Deputy Director of the Qianhai Administration Bureau), Baoshui Wu (Deputy Secretary of the Shenzhen University Party Committee), and Keping Yu (Chair Professor and Dean of Shenzhen University’s School of Government, Dean of the Global Megacity Governance Research Institute, and Dean of the Peking University’s Urban Governance Research Institute). Deliberations revolved around Qianhai’s development under the visionary planning of General Secretary Xi Jinping, its alignment with Xi’s Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and its pivotal role in implementing the national development strategy while propelling local governance innovations in Shenzhen.
A pivotal component of the Forum was the roundtable on the launch of the Greater Bay Area Urban Governance Innovation Research Network, meticulously hosted by Changjiang Wang (Former Director of the Party Building Teaching and Research Department and First-class Professor of the Central Party School of the Chinese Community Party). Dean Weixing Hu, acting as the University of Macau’s Representative, emphasized the imperative to harness the wisdom of each city in promoting institutional innovation and achieving seamless integration in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
The Forum’s impactful conclusion featured the unveiling ceremonies of the Qianhai base of Shenzhen University’s Global Megacity Governance Research Institute, China Urban Governance Innovation Database, and Shenzhen Urban Governance Innovation Database. Other notable guests of this forum included Kuanping Sun (Founding Vice President of Peking University’s Institute of Urban Governance), Jordi Baker (via video, Secretary-General of the World Association of Major Metropolises), Professor Jun Chen (Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Director of the Academic Committee of the Beijing Institute of Urban Governance), Jiexiu Wang (President of the China Social Governance Research Association, Former Director of the Policy Research Center of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and Dean of the Social Policy Research Institute of Zhejiang Gongshang University), Liqiao Guo (Former Deputy Director of the Department of Building Energy Conservation and Science and Technology and Deputy Director of the Yangtze River Delta Sustainable Development Research Institute of Tongji University), Chi-Wai Sio (President of the Macau Development Strategy Research Center), Professor Xianju Zeng (Director of the Department of Social Sciences of Shenzhen University), Professor Yufan Hao (Vice Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Chinese University of Hong Kong [Shenzhen]), Professor Shenghui Li (Dean of School of Public Administration, South China University of Technology), Professor Limin Zhou (Vice Dean of School of Public Administration, Guangzhou University), Professor Danny Lam (Head of the Department of Politics and Public Administration, University of Hong Kong), Professor Jiang Xu (Head of the Department of Geography and Resource Management, The Chinese University of Hong Kong), Professor Alfred Ho (Head of the Department of Public and International Affairs, City University of Hong Kong), and Associate Professor Yifen Yin (Director of the Institute of Social Economics and Public Policy, Macau Polytechnic University).
