U.S. cities seek support from China in exploring smart city technology

Two U.S. cities in western California on the U.S. west coast are seeking support from cities from China and other countries in joint efforts to "form smart city alliances."

A driverless train for Shanghai Metro is pictured at a maintenance station in Shanghai, on January 10, 2017. [File photo: IC]

At a news briefing on the G50 Smart City Summit to be held in Silicon Valley in early April this year, Berry Chang, president of the G50 Smart City Summit Committee, said Wednesday that five Chinese cities, including Beijing, the capital of China, and Tianjin, a port city in northern China, have confirmed their intention to attend the first summit of its kind to discuss the prospect of making use of smart city technologies.

He said that cities around the world which have been invited to the event have a lot to learn from each other and the opportunity to share their ideas.

Talking about smart transportation system in urban areas, he cited as an example the driverless subway system in Shanghai, an international metropolis in eastern China.

"I visited China and to my surprise, (the) Shanghai subway system is driverless, and it can move 4,000 passengers in one train. That's quite enough," he said.

Chang said that he expected the Chinese cities to come to (the summit) to share their success in urban construction and they can also learn what other cities can do.

However, California's Monterey City on the pacific coast has very rich experience in oceanic technology, and any city that wants to learn about the technology can come over and talk to Moneterey City directly, he added.

The G50 Smart City Summit, which will take place from April 6 to 7, aims to connect cities around the world with experts from the hi-tech community, academia and local governments to share ideas and advance solutions for some of the most challenging issues that cities are facing today.