Mayors from across the European Union and China met in the Committee of the Regions (CoR), in Brussels, and signed an agreement signalling the next phase in co-operation as part of a joint effort in promoting sustainable cities. President of the CoR, Ramón Luis Valcárcel Siso, highlighted that the Forum offered the ideal platform to take a joint response to deal with these global challenges.

The first EU-China Mayors' Forum, held at the Committee of the Regions (CoR) in Brussels, ended with the signature of a Charter which signalled the next phase in co-operation as part of a joint effort in promoting sustainable cities. President of the CoR, Ramón Luis Valcárcel Siso, gave his backing to the initiative arguing that the collaboration underlines the crucial importance of environmentally sustainable growth. The EU-China Mayors' Forum is co-organised by the Covenant of Mayors Office and the Chinese Association of Mayors, and it is part of the EU-China Partnership on urbanisation which was signed in May this year. Also in September, the EU and China signed a financing agreement to promote China transition towards a low-carbon economy.

The President underlined that the Forum offered the ideal platform to take a joint response to deal with global challenges whilst also highlighting the need to engage all levels of government, including local and regional authorities, in creating a sustainable future. On his part, Cui Hengde, Secretary-General of China Association of Mayors, supported this point noting that there was a need to make great efforts to make things happen. Cui Hengde said that the Forum was an important channel to strengthen ties, share knowledge and cooperate on different projects between local representatives from both continents.

Andris Piebalgs, European Commissioner for Development, referred to the Covenant of Mayors during his keynote speech during the closing session. He stressed that its success demonstrates the awareness by cities to protect their environment and, their strongest motivation is to spark sustainable economic activity and create towns and regions worth living in.