Sustainable Development, Priority of Cooperation Between French and Chinese Local Governments

In the context of crisis which we face today， in France as well as in China and around the world， it can be tempting to adopt a posture of withdrawal: withdrawal into national borders， and withdrawal based on the revenue of the conventional economy， abandoning the turning point that we were reaching out for in terms of more sustainable development.

Cities are places witnessing the problems of development， but they are also formidable experimental laboratories where the solutions to these problems are found. And because， it is not always in the richest countries where the best solutions are developed most creatively， everyone has the greatest interest in resisting the temptation to retreat， as well as taking the opportunity to listen to others， to facilitate the exchange of good practices in all directions， east and west， from south to north.

Cities have demonstrated that they were often ahead of governments in this regard. Last December in Copenhagen， when our governments struggled hard to find agreement on fighting climate change， I attended a meeting of more than sixty mayors of large cities in the world who had shown by example that it was possible to achieve ambitious targets to slow and hopefully stop the mechanism of climate change.

From this， I found the expression of enthusiastic commitment of their people who are a real driving force towards building a more balanced world. At the city level， the awareness among all citizens， that their urgent environmental and behavioral changes imply， is a refreshment of sincerity and spontaneity， which contrasts with the complex power struggles and calculations in which the delegates of governments meeting at COP-15 were involved.

Personally I add my voice to all citizens of the world who still depend on the upcoming negotiations at COP-16 in Cancun， Mexico in late November， for the simple and strong message of the citizens conveyed to their senior representatives to overcome resistance and to transform into a historic agreement， the hopes expressed by their people.

However， I will continue to work with people of Bordeaux and the Bordelais to find the ways of “happy modesty”， the moderation of behavior in terms of consumption， pollution， social disruption and governance; as Confucius said: “That which makes prosperity of country， it is not wealth， but it is justice”.

We work in Bordeaux especially according to our Agenda 21， which has been developed in consultation and gives visibility and coherence to our sustainable development policies. But I am well aware that we will work even better through cooperation with other cities of the world. Of course we do so bilaterally with partner cities such as Quebec， Fukuoka， Los Angeles， Munich， St. Petersburg， Casablanca， or， in China， Wuhan where I have just spent two days to sign a new program of action involving 40 partnerships， targeting cooperation priority for sustainable development: environment technologies， urban planning， management of lakes， waste treatment， energy efficiency， social innovation， carbon schedule， etc.

Of course， Bordeaux also participates in dialogues of much larger communities such as among ICLEI network members， or of United Cities and Local Governments.

But today I’d like to share with you a very specific idea of cooperation with China， which was launched by the city of Bordeaux several years ago， and has continued its path with great success: meetings of local governments’ cooperation between France and China.

When I was Foreign Minister from 1993 to 1995， I worked hard for the cooperation between local governments to be structured legally and “city diplomacy” playing an important role alongside state-level cooperation. We have thus created in France the National Commission on Cooperation of Local Governments， chaired by the Prime Minister and comprising representatives of cities， counties and regions of France， as well as representatives of ministries concerned with international cooperation， such as the ministries of foreign affairs， economy， culture and education.

Bordeaux has a seat in the National Commission， where it represents all French cities. In addition， Bordeaux has helped to create a “China Committee” which I chair， with the aim of facilitating dialogue between French and Chinese local governments.

It is with this objective that I proposed， in 2001， that Bordeaux should organize for the very first time， large community meetings between the two countries. Eventually the idea took shape in 2005 with the support of foreign ministries of both countries.

Thanks to the enthusiasm of President Chen Haosu， and Mr. Jacques Valade， whom I’d like to salute here， the city of Bordeaux and the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries gathered in Wuhan with representatives of 40 local governments across China and 40 from all over France for the First China-France Forum， discussing the themes of environmental protection， economic development and urban management， with dynamic and original ideas.

In the panels of the forum， it was forged as a common conviction among the participants that the issue of sustainable development was a priority for cooperation between French and Chinese cities.

On this basis， the Second High Level China-France Forum on Local Government Cooperation was held in Bordeaux in 2007 with the theme of “Towards a harmonious society through sustainable development”. I was pleased on this occasion to welcome political leaders from more than 100 local governments of both countries， and in total 850 representatives of 180 organizations—primarily economic， but also educational and other associations—who attended the two-day forum. More than 80 participants made contributions in the panels， thus， an in-depth dialogue was created. Everyone showed good confidence with each other; no one had come to give lessons: “It’s better at home，” instead， each came modestly to find specific areas of cooperation， including some very new fields of cooperation such as the integration of vulnerable population groups (the elderly， the handicapped)， ethnic minorities， participatory democracy， etc.

During the meetings， new agreements were signed between the Centre Region and Jiangxi Province， the Burgundy Region and Heilongjiang Province and the city of Tours and the city of Shangrao. Cooperation projects were launched between Lille， Nantes and Shenyang， Qingdao， as well as between the Auvergne Region and Liaoning Province.

The proceedings of these meetings were recorded and I have brought a few copies of the DVD for those who want to learn more about it.

Shortly after， the French and Chinese Governments signed a framework agreement for sustainable urban development cooperation. And I am delighted that this agreement has recently found its first practical application， in Wuhan.

As I said in my introduction， cities are often ahead of the governments! This adventure of High Level France-China Forum on Local Government Cooperation still continues. Recently the third meeting held in Nanjing was a great success， and the next is already scheduled for 2014 in France.

So， my dear friends， this dynamic experience of cooperation which is a bit special is what I want to testify about before you. Local governments are the heart， the engine and the beneficiaries. And it is not a mere coincidence that the dynamic theme of sustainable development has emerged as the priority of local governments’ cooperation between France and China.

I hope this experience will inspire you to rise to meetings for cooperation of local governments between China and the U.S.， China-Japan， China-Russia， etc. And that these meetings will allow everyone to find， to quote Mr. Chen Haosu， “the best possible balance in the relations between men， and the relationship between man and nature.”

The author is the Mayor of Bordeaux， Chairman of the China Committee of French National Commission for Local Governments Cooperation. He served as French Prime Minister from 1995 to 1997.