13 October,2014 – Shanghai, China. With the invitation from the Royal Institution ofChartered Surveyors (RICS), Prof Wu Jiang, the Vice President of TongjiUniversity and Dr Wang Xin, the Vice Dean of the UNEP-Tongji Institute ofEnvironment for Sustainable Development (IESD), attended the RICS Future GlobalCities Round Table at Shanghai Marriott City Center.

During theforum, Prof Wu Jiang introduced the thirty-year construction plan of Shanghaidevelopment of Global and World City. He also discussed with the Lord Mayor ofLondon, RICS CEO and participants on the path for reduction of living andbusiness cost in Shanghai.

Ms Fiona Woolf, the Lord Mayor ofLondon, addressed the forum. The core values for London’s continuous competitivenessas a Global City lie in the development opportunities for global talents aswell as the urban development as a safe and livable city. Ms Woolf said thatLondon’s Great Smog disaster in 1952 led to the enforcement of the Clean AirAct in 1956, which encouraged the reduction of coal in the energy structure anddeveloped public transportation. It is said that now over 92% of the citizensin London take public transportation.

Before the forum,Prof Wu Jiang and Dr Wang Xin and Dr Sean Tompkins, the CEO of RICS, Ms LouiseBrooke-Smith, thePresident of RICS, Mr Will Myles, the President of RICS for the Asia-Pacific,discussed potentials for cooperation between Tongji and RICS. RICS expressedits cooperation intention to initiate strategic cooperation with Tongji, withIESD as a platform, to cultivate professionals in the fields of real estate,environment, transportation and public facilities, among others.