Dec. 15th, the 10th Pan-Pearl River Delta Mayors' Forum kicked off at Guangzhou Baiyun International Convention Center. Sponsored by the nine member cities’ governments and the China Association of Mayors, the forum is hosted by the Guangzhou government this year. Relying on a solid foundation of cooperation and development established over the past 10 years, the forum aims to attain an updated version of cooperation for regional economic integration.

Pan-PRD regional cooperation aims at building economic integration regionally, strengthening the exchanges and cooperation between east, central and west China, and providing new opportunities for mainland, Hong Kong and Macao to establish closer economic and trade relations. The Hong Kong government and Macao government have also been invited to the forum. The delegations from the 11 cities and regions will take part in a series of discussions, meetings and field research, deliberating on documents covering past work and future plans from 2015 to 2025.

The Pan-PRD Mayors’ Forum was established in 2004, when deeper cooperation was encouraged between the nine provinces and two regions in the Pearl River Delta. As the initiator of the event, Guangzhou hosted the forum on September 16 and 17, 2004. The other eight capital cities were Fuzhou (Fujian), Nanchang (Jiangxi), Changsha (Hunan), Nanning (Guangxi), Haikou (Hainan), Chengdu (Sichuan), Guiyang (Guizhou) and Kunming (Yunnan). They signed an agreement and have been working on it ever since. More and deeper exchanges on political and economic issues have been transpiring among the nine cities, with a wider range and increased level of cooperation. A platform has been successfully built to provide collaborative work and resource sharing for different groups from governments to enterprises. The forum envisions the growing of a regional economic system that is vigorous and full of opportunities.

This year, the forum plans to urge an updated version of cooperation for regional economic integration. Closer cooperation between PRD and Hong Kong and Macao will be developed. Stronger economic exchanges between PRD and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Southeast Asia are encouraged as well. The Pan-PRD Mayors’ Forum is striving to play an important role in building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.