The Shanghai Declaration of the World Expo 2010 Shanghai, issued on October 31, 2010, proposed to designate October 31 as World Cities Day. Since its designation in 2014, the international day has served as a platform for countries to jointly promote the sustainable development of cities. President Xi Jinping has highlighted the importance of the development of cities and of blazing a development path with Chinese characteristics. Xi is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission. Edited excerpts of Xi's speeches on this topic since 2017 follow:  

Excerpts from Xi's report to the 20th CPC National Congress on October 16, 2022 

Excerpts from Xi's report to the 20th CPC National Congress on October 16, 2022 

Excerpts from Xi's speech on the planning and building of Xiongan New Area on February 23, 2017 

Excerpts from Xi's remarks during an inspection tour in Shanghai on November 2, 2019 

VOICE 

Sources: Xi Jinping: The Governance of China (II, III), the report to the 20th CPC National Congress, Xinhua News Agency and Chengdu Economic Daily