Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) was one of the co-organizers of the Shenzhen Forum on the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (the Forum). The Forum was sponsored by the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government. Other co-organizers included the Shenzhen Municipal Science and Technology Innovation Commission, and the Shenzhen Urban Public Safety and Technology Research Institute. 

More than 300 representatives and experts from national ministries, provinces and municipalities joined representatives from various international institutions, enterprises, universities, research institutes and industry associations at the forum. SUSTech University Council Chairperson Guo Yurong, Vice President Teng Jinguang and Vice Provost (Global Strategies) Zheng Chunmiao attended the event on behalf of SUSTech.

The forum also held the opening ceremony of the Shenzhen Institute of Sustainable Development, which was established by the support of SUSTech. This practice marks a new stage of Shenzhen’s sustainable development, fully supported by SUSTech.

With the theme of “Supporting innovative sustainable development”, the forum aimed to actively deepen international cooperation and extensively explore theoretical and practical issues in the field of sustainable development. It also summarized Shenzhen’s sustainable development experience while detailing the development of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone through the prism of 40 years of reform and opening-up.

At the forum, Vice Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Youba Sokona, Tsinghua SDG Research Institute Co-Chief and former UN Under-Secretary-General Wu Hongbo, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Professor of the School of Environment at Tsinghua University Qian Yi all delivered keynote speeches around the theme of innovation leading a future of sustainability and inclusiveness.

January 15th saw a multiparty dialogue presided by Teng Jinguang, with representatives from the government, industry, universities, scientific research institutions, civil organizations, and international organizations attending.

On the 16th, the Forum on Innovation and Sustainable Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, one of the divisions of the Forum was held at SUSTech. The forum is based on the theme of “New Era, New Opportunities, New Development: Exploring the Emergence of a Sustainable World-Class Bay Area,” and was hosted by Zheng Chunmiao. Deputy Secretary-General of the Shenzhen Municipal Government Liu Jiachen and SUSTech University Council Chairperson addressed the forum. Dozens of professors from the United States, France, South Korea and China gave their opinions about the sustainable development of the Greater Bay Area.

Liu Jiachen pointed out that Shenzhen is striving to develop the Greater Bay Area, and every city in this area is essential for the sustainable development chain. Whether it is the manufacturing and industrializing of research and development materials or the sustainability of trade and transportation, each city is creating a more solid and comprehensive Greater Bay Area. Working together, they are forming a sustainable ecosystem that is inseparable and united.

Guo Yurong added that innovation is the paramount resource on the path of sustainable development research. The ability to keep innovating is the source of sustainable development. Shenzhen is the smallest city in the first-tier cities with scarce natural resources, so it has relied on high-level talent and innovative ability. As a result, the city has made great leaps forward, as has SUSTech. In just seven years, SUSTech has made incredible breakthroughs, which proves the power of reform and innovation.

The Forum is important and influential in sustainable development for both SUSTech and Shenzhen. It fully adheres to the new development concept of innovation, coordination, green, openness and sharing, and focuses on the new situation and requirements of global sustainable development and supply side structural reform in China. New opportunities for urban industrial transformation were shown and an important platform for promoting the exchanges in sustainable development were made. All these efforts are striving to demonstrate the achievements and experiences in China’s sustainable development.

February 13, 2018 saw the State Council’s approval of the Shenzhen Municipal Government with the theme of innovation leading the sustainable development of super-large cities, building a national demonstration zone for sustainable development agenda. According to the Shenzhen Sustainable Development Plan (2017-2030) and the Shenzhen National Sustainable Development Agenda Innovation Demonstration Zone Construction Plan (2017-2020), by 2020, Shenzhen will strive to build a model city in an innovative demonstration area. By 2025, Shenzhen will become an internationally advanced city for sustainable development and by 2030, a global innovation city for sustainable development will be built. By this point, Shenzhen’s sustainable development will be at a world-class level, forming a series of renewable and sustainable experiences for the rest of the world.