The APEC Meeting on Smart City and Intelligent Industry was held from May 18-19 2010 in Langfang, Hebei Province of China. The meeting was sponsored by China APEC Development Council, and organized by Langfang Municipal People’s Government, Commerce Department of Hebei Province, and Foreign Affairs Office of Hebei Provincial People’s Government. The meeting has also gained strong support from related government agencies and organizations including Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), and China International Friendship Cities Association (CIFCA). The meeting aims to further implement the guidelines and principles of APEC in promoting trade and investment liberalization in the Asia-Pacific region, and to strengthen exchange and cooperation among APEC member economies. The meeting is also expected to promote further opening-up of Bohai Rim, to boost the optimization and upgrading of the regional economic structure, and to accelerate the development of intelligent industry and smart city.

Mr. Huang Mengfu, Vice-chairman of CPPCC National Committee and Chairman of All-China Industry and Commerce Federation, attended and addressed the meeting. Mr. Chen Quanguo, Governor of Hebei Province delivered a welcome address. Mr. Gorge W. Bush, former President of the United States, delivered a video address. High-ranking government officials, leaders of world-famous enterprises, and well-known scholars, including Mr. Cheng Siwei，former Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Tenth NPC, Mr. Sim Cher Young, Chief Operating Officer of the APEC Secretariat, Mr. Arturo Nuez Jimenez, Vice Chairman of the Senate of Mexico, Professor Robert A. Mundell, known as the Father of Euro and winner of Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science in 1999, Professor Li Yining, famous economist of China, and Mr. Jeff Moon, Vice President of Cisco System, gathered in Langfang and had wide-range and in-depth dialogue on intelligent industry and smart city, which are hot issues nowadays attracting world-wide attention.

Making good use of APEC as an important platform for economic cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region, and a tripartite cooperation pattern among government, enterprises and academic institutions, this meeting carried out an in-depth and multi-view discussion on the topics of intelligent industry and smart city, putting emphasis on how to promote the development of enterprises and cities in a environment-friendly, low-carbon and harmonious manner, thus contributing to the sustainable development of the Asia-Pacific region and the whole world.
The participants of the meeting unanimously believe that with the rapid development of intelligent industry represented by computer and network technologies, our society is witnessing a new round industrial revolution since the beginning of the 21st century and marching into an intelligent era. The issue of intelligent industry and smart city, which is of great significance to the future development of our society, has drawn world-wide attention.

City is the crystallization of human civilization, and the carrier of the region’s economic prospects, as well as our citizen’s expectation. Relying on information technology to make city more harmonious and environment-friendly, and to realize the upgrading of industrial structure and the transformation of economic growth pattern through the development of intelligent industry, has become the trend of our time. This is of great significance to all the countries to restart the engine of economic growth in the future.

The meeting also emphasized the significance of the development of intelligent industry and smart city to the adjustment and transformation of the Asia-Pacific region’s economic development strategy in the Post-crisis era. As the premier economic forum of the Asia-Pacific region, APEC provides its members with an effective platform for economic cooperation and exchange, and plays a key role in promoting the sustainable economic development of the region. The Asia-Pacific region has just gone through a world-wide financial tsunami, and the recovery of the region’s economy needs new impetus and economic growth engine. APEC has listed the application of a new strategy for promoting balanced, inclusive and sustainable economic growth as one of the new pillars of its future process. In this sense, the themes of the meeting well coincide with the trend of APEC cooperation, and will give new ideas to the development of intelligent city, digital city and safe city in the Asia-Pacific region, and create new opportunities for APEC members’ economic growth in the Post-crisis era.

Participants of the meeting are delighted to see that some cities of China, represented by Langfang of Hebei Province, have fully recognized the significance of intelligent industry and smart city to the growth of regional economy, and have taken effective measures for implementation. They have made great achievements in upgrading the intelligence level of the cities through promoting the development of emerging industries such as new and high technologies, modern services, energy-saving and environmental protection industries. The meeting has provided APEC member economies with good opportunities and channels to share advanced ideas on city development, exchange experiences on smart city construction, and enhance cooperation on intelligent industry development.

Representing all the participants of the meeting, Mr. Zhang Lijun, Chairman of China APEC Development Council announced the APEC Initiative on Promoting the Development of Smart City and Intelligent Industry (APEC Langfang Initiative) at the end of the meeting. The Initiative pointes out that smart city and intelligent industry, which stands for the concept of advanced technology, green environment protection, sustainable development and coordination, fits in the long-term strategy for economic growth and fundamental interests of APEC economies. The Initiative calls for great efforts in enhancing cooperation on the development of smart city and intelligent industry among APEC member economies, strengthening their potential on innovation and knowledge economy development, and fostering more harmonious, inclusive and sustainable social environment, so as to promote the economic growth and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region. APEC Langfang Initiative will provide APEC member economies with important guidelines in enhancing cooperation on smart city construction and intelligent industry development in the future.
 

Reported by China APEC Development Council