On November 17th, during the significant event for scientific and technological exchange and innovation cooperation between the Chinese and Italian governments—the “6th China-Italy Innovation Cooperation Week”—Xin Zhiwei, Deputy Director of the Environmental Development Center at China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection, highlighted China’s urbanization achievements. While these accomplishments have drawn global attention, he noted that the country’s rapid development model has led to increasingly prominent issues involving the environment, population, and resources.
The Fifth Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China has emphasized “innovation” and “green” development as core themes for advancing China’s growth during the 13th Five-Year Plan period.
Within this context, the sub-forum on “Sustainable Development and Smart Cities” at the China-Italy Innovation Cooperation Week convened experts from both countries. They explored the deep integration and innovation across the construction, energy conservation, environmental protection, technology, and information sectors.
Chinese experts such as Wang Qingqin, Vice President of the China Academy of Building Research, and Professor Cheng Dazhang from Tongji University, engaged in in-depth discussions with Italian counterparts, including Mauro Draoli, Head of the Italian Digitalization Agency, and Professor Claudio Russo from Politecnico di Milano. Their conversations focused on trending topics like smart cities, building energy efficiency, and urban planning.
“Green buildings have gained attention and application in China,” said Cheng Dazhang, “but the sustainability of individual buildings alone cannot support the future of urban development. The future lies in green, smart urban areas and cities.”
All attendees agreed that China could benefit from Italy’s technological strengths and successful experiences in smart cities, energy conservation, environmental protection, green buildings, and new building industrialization. Combining efforts, China and Italy can jointly develop innovative, green, and smart cities to enhance urban planning, construction, and management, ultimately creating intelligent and livable urban environments.
China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited (CSCEC, stock code 601668), recognized as the world’s largest construction and real estate group and a leading central enterprise in China’s urbanization, aims to spearhead innovation and transformation in urban construction. The company is committed to shifting urban development towards a “green + smart” model.
Liu Jinzhang, Vice President of CSCEC, shared at the event that the corporation’s prefabricated housing initiatives have led to the establishment of an innovative investment platform—China State Construction Engineering Corporation Development Co., Ltd. This entity invests billions in venture capital, focusing on innovation in building technology, energy conservation, environmental protection, and building information industries.
CSCEC has also registered and incubated four major industrial companies that have reached significant scale:
- CSCEC Water – specializing in urban water engineering
- CSCEC Environmental Protection – focusing on comprehensive treatment of water, soil, gas pollution, and environmental engineering
- CSCEC Technology Group – dedicated to new building industrialization, green building, and other construction innovation technologies
- CSCEC E-commerce Co., Ltd. – focusing on the building information industry
Liu Jinzhang emphasized that CSCEC’s new businesses rely on international cooperation to establish technological pathways, leverage China’s urbanization to build market channels, and utilize CSCEC’s enormous project capacity—with an annual contract volume of 1.4 trillion yuan—to develop industrial channels. The company’s two major strategic focuses—ecological civilization construction and urbanization—require the construction industry to pursue green and intelligent development.
To achieve this, CSCEC plans to accelerate its transformation, strengthen international partnerships, explore new reforms for state-owned enterprises, fulfill social responsibilities effectively, and promote sustainable development within the construction sector.
During the forum, CSCEC and its subsidiaries—including China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited, China State Construction Technology Group Co., Ltd., and China State Construction Water Environmental Protection Co., Ltd.—engaged in substantial B2B exchanges with Italian enterprises and academic institutions. They reached cooperation intentions in key areas such as new building industrialization, building energy conservation, green buildings, and water environmental protection.
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