100-People Forum on China Urban Studies

At the 18th CPC National Congress and the 3rd plenarysession of the 18th CPC Central Committee, the requirement to “strengthen thedevelopment of new-type think tanks with Chinese characteristics, and build asound decision-making advisory system” was made. The Party’s Secretary-generalXi Jinping stressed the importance of developing new-type think tanks withChinese characteristics. Today, China is undergoing the largest-scaleurbanization in human history, and urban studies are a complicated huge system.Faced with complicated problems and serious challenges, the decisions made bythe Party Central Committee, the State Council and relevant governmentdepartments have to be backed up by scientific theories and correct policyadvice. In order to effectively integrate the outstanding researchers, expertsand teams in related fields, build an interdisciplinary, collaborativeinnovation platform and an informal communication mechanism, strengthen thestudies on major issues concerning urbanization, and offer better theoreticalbackup and policy advice to the Party Central Committee, the State Council andrelated department in decision-making, Wu Liangyong, Xu Kuangdi, Chen Zongxing,Wang Weiguang, Niu Wenyuan and Wang Guangtao made the decision to jointlyinitiate “China Urban Forum 100”. On August 31, 2014, “China Urban Forum 100”held its inaugural meeting namely “Urbanization of Men” in the first lecturehall of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

“China Urban Forum 100” is a non-profit, incompact,multidisciplinary integrated think tank. It will launch activities byorganizing annual meetings, seminars, lectures, researches and investigationsand academic communications, and make suggestions on major policies made by thenational decision-making departments, and publish collective research findingsin the name of the forum as a whole. China Urban Forum 100, affiliated to theChinese Academy of Social Sciences, relies on China Society of Urban Economy,and services will be provided via CASS Center for City and Competitiveness. In thefuture, the meetings will be held in roundtable form so that members fromdifferent fields can communicate with and learn from one another equally, and playthe role of each member as being a thinker and think tank in the forum will beto the maximum degree in the urban development of China.