Ｃｈｉｎａ－Ｓｐａｉｎ Ｕｒｂａｎ Ｔｒａｎｓｐｏｒｔ Ｓｅｍｉｎａｒ

The China-Spain Seminar on Urban Transport jointly sponsored by the Chinese Committee of the China-Spain Forum and the Agency of International Cooperation of the Spanish Foreign Ministry was held in Beijing from May 10 to 14， 2004. The Seminar was convened for professional exchanges between China and Spain within the framework of the China-Spain Forum. It was a result of the first annual meeting of the Forum with the aim of promoting exchanges and cooperation between the two countries in policy making， development planning， management， technology and economy of urban transport so as to advance the construction of transport facilities and modernization of management of transport in Beijing and build a computerized traffic command system for the 2008 Olympic Games.

Su Guang， vice president of the CPAFFC and vice chairman of the Chinese Committee of the China-Spain Forum， Eduardo Aznar， chargé d’affaires of the Spanish Embassy in China， Li Binghua， vice chairman of the Beijing Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games， José Lorenzo Baltazar， representative of the Spanish International Cooperation Agency in China attended and spoke at the seminar.

In his speech at the opening ceremony， Su Guang， on behalf of Hu Qili， chairman of the Forum’s Chinese Committee， Chen Haosu， CPAFFC president， the Chinese Committee of the Forum and the CPAFFC， expressed his warm congratulations on the smooth convening of the seminar. He briefed about the aim of the Forum and pointed out that at the first Forum exchange of experience in the preparation of the Olympic Games was an important subject in the discussion about exchanges in sports between the two countries. Su said， this seminar on urban transport as an activity of professional exchanges between China and Spain was held at the time when Beijing was pushing up its construction of transport facilities and carrying out the Beijing Olympic Action Plan. It was not only a continuity of the discussion concerning the Olympic Games， but also an implementation of the results of the first Forum. It plays a positive role in advancing the building of a computerized modern urban transport system and its management system in Beijing and other Chinese cities for the preparations of the Olympic Games.

Li Binghua， vice chairman of the Forum’s Chinese Committee， said， in 2003 Beijing drafted the Specific Plan of Urban Transport Development and Management as a component of the Beijing Olympic Action Plan. The specific plan clearly says that construction of transport facilities and modernization of traffic management in Beijing will be promoted with the aim of providing convenient， fast， safe， orderly， efficient and environmental-friendly traffic services. This will provide favourable transport conditions for Beijing to first realize modernization and sustainable development， and the first-class urban transport services for the Olympic Games. Transport， an important component part of a modernized city， has special significance for a city that will host the Olympic Games. In the field of urban transport and transport for the Olympic Games， Spain has rich and successful experience that China can learn from. Li hoped that through this seminar the two sides would strengthen exchanges and cooperation in the fields of policy-making， planning， construction and management of urban transport.

At the seminar， Liu Xiaoming， vice chairman of the Beijing Transport Committee， José Ramòn Vicente， general manager of the Elsamex Group of Spain， Aniceto Zaragoza， president of the Spanish Road Association and Liu Wenjie， deputy secretary general of the Chinese Highway Society， gave speeches respectively on China’s policy on road safety， transport policy and sustainable development， policy on road safety in Spain and Europe and the development of highways in China.