Editor's note: Since the beginning of this year, focusing on the preparation of the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Beijing's foreign affairs service has coordinated resources and mobilized forces from all parties, and fully took advantage of foreign affairs resources and channels to promote the Olympics, host foreign affairs events, improve language environment, and guarantee foreign-related security and services, contributing to the success of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.
On November 24, the 6th Tokyo Global Partners Seminar with the theme of "Strengthening Cooperation between Cities for a Sustainable Recovery from the COVID-19 Crisis" was held via a video conference. The seminar was held by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike delivered a speech via video, and Director General of Beijing Foreign Affairs Office Xiong Jiuling was invited to attend and deliver a keynote speech.
From the perspective of international cooperation, Xiong Jiuling shared the specific measures of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics to achieve carbon neutrality in venue construction and event organization and introduced the important role of Beijing’s National Center for Science & Technology Innovation and the "Two Zones" initiative in promoting the sustainable development of cities. He invited the participating cities to share in the new opportunities of Beijing's opening-up and development and jointly promote the sustainable recovery of cities from the COVID-19 crisis. Xiong Jiuling said that CO2 is used as refrigerant in the largest skating rink of the Beijing 2022 Olympics and Paralympic Winter Games, a ground-breaking practice in the world that makes zero emissions within reach. The participating cities are welcome to keep following the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
Xiong Jiuling also said that Beijing incorporates the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals into the overall layout of city design and continues to optimize energy mix and industrial structure, striving to take the lead in achieving carbon neutrality in China. The participating cities praised Beijing's efforts and achievements in realizing the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals and said that Beijing's efforts in developing new energy vehicles were impressive with outstanding results, setting a good example for others to learn from.
At the seminar, heads of foreign affairs departments from 21 cities around the world including Seoul, Rio, Queensland, Paris, and Los Angeles exchanged views on the sustainable recovery of cities from the COVID-19 crisis, shared their experience and achievements, and jointly discussed the new forms and paths of strengthening pragmatic cooperation between cities. Tokyo will link the legacy of the Tokyo 2020 Games to achieving a sustainable recovery from the pandemic; Queensland empowers its sustainable development with technology and uses hydrogen energy and other renewable energy to optimize the urban energy mix; Seoul, Rio, Bangkok, and other cities introduced the online bilateral and multilateral city exchanges and cooperation such as Sister Cities Cultural Festivals and pandemic prevention experience exchange meetings. The seminar reached important consensus on promoting green and low-carbon development and strengthening international cooperation in addressing climate change, which would help Beijing make better use of the superior resources of international cities and deepen pragmatic cooperation in "one city, one policy" initiative.
2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan. As the capitals of China and Japan, Beijing and Tokyo have had close interactions and fruitful cooperation since they became sister cities in 1979. Beijing participated in this seminar at the invitation of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to further consolidate the friendship between the two cities, deepen cooperation in Olympics, and actively create a favorable international environment for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.
