Over the past week, some 20 government officials, scholars and representatives from Shenzhen’s international sister cities and friendship organizations gathered in the city for the Innovative Cities International Exchange Camp highlighting innovation and sustainable development.

The camp was jointly organized by the Shenzhen Municipal Foreign Affairs Office and Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School.

An opening ceremony was held June 5 to kick off the camp. Cao Saixian, director general of the Shenzhen Municipal Foreign Affairs Office, said at the ceremony that Shenzhen has attached great importance to innovation and sustainable development, and is promoting the coordinated development of the environment, economy and society, and harmony between man and nature.

The weeklong event included a seminar, a cultural experience program, an exchange meeting, company visits and field surveys on urban infrastructure.

Participants visited Shenzhen-based companies such as Huawei, Tencent and Mindray, and went to Dasha River and Nanshan Energy Ecological Park to observe firsthand the city’s innovative and sustainable practices in cultural leisure and urban infrastructure construction. They also visited Guanlan Print Village and Mangrove Nature Reserve to gain insights into Shenzhen’s ecological environment.

Through various activities, the participants learned about Shenzhen’s endeavors in innovation and sustainability while sharing their own experiences and solutions to common challenges.

Notable exchanges included discussions between representatives of the Barcelona government and Bao’an District on industrial design, as well as talks between representatives from Pingshan District and Barcelona on new energy vehicles.

German representatives from Bavaria and Munich explored potential cooperation opportunities for overseas business expansion of Shenzhen startups.

Representatives from the Almaty government expressed their intention to exchange government employees with Shenzhen to learn about the city’s smart city solutions.

Representatives from Aichi Prefecture in Japan visited Guanlan Print Village in Longhua District to better understand Shenzhen’s measures for protecting traditional culture.