Jorge Agudero, a writer and scholar from Spain, told the Global Times that China"s achievement in building Xiong"an into a technologically advanced, green and innovative "city of the future" in just over nine years was difficult for many foreigners to imagine.

　　What impressed these visitors was more than the speed and scale of construction. Xiong"an offers a tangible example of how governance ideas can move from ambitious plans to practical results, and why China"s experience is attracting attention in discussions about the future of global governance.

　　In April 2017, China decided to establish the Xiong"an New Area as part of a strategy to promote the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Serving as a hub to accommodate non-capital functions relocated from Beijing, the city was designed to be smart, green, innovative, livable and free from "urban ills."

　　Long-term thinking: A lesson from Xiong"an

　　At the forum, "global governance" and "Chinese solutions" were among the recurring themes heard by Global Times reporters. The gathering brought together nearly 400 representatives from more than 90 countries and international and regional organizations, including the UN. With participants drawn from political, academic, business, financial, technological and cultural fields, the forum reflected the growing importance of broad participation and cooperation in addressing global challenges.

　　Global Times reporters also noticed that many international participants were particularly interested in why such a high-level forum was being held in Xiong"an, rather than in established Chinese megacities such as Beijing or Shanghai.