Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday sent a congratulatory letter to the 2022 World Cities Day Global Observance and the Second Sustainable Development Goals Cities Global Conference held in Shanghai.

With the vision of Better City, Better Life, the World Cities Day Global Observance is dedicated to promoting the sustainable development of cities around the world, which is of great significance to fostering a development paradigm featuring benefits for all, balance, coordination, inclusiveness, win-win cooperation and common prosperity, Xi said.

The president said he hopes that cities will actively participate in the Global Development Initiative, accelerate the implementation of the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the New Urban Agenda, contribute to effective economic recovery, improve the quality of ecological environment, enhance the effectiveness of urban governance, and jointly promote global sustainable development. 

The World Cities Day Global Observance and the Second Sustainable Development Goals Cities Global Conference opened in Shanghai on Monday under the theme Act Local to Go Global, co-organized by the Chinese Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Shanghai municipal government and UN-Habitat. 

(Cover: An aerial view of Tang Paradise, a large royal garden-like theme park in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, June 15, 2022. /Xinhua)