Chongqing- The International Symposium on the Global Significance of Chinese Modernization was held on June 18 in Chongqing, bringing together about 200 Chinese and international guests from 11 countries, including China, Singapore, Hungary, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, and Peru.

The International Symposium on the Global Significance of Chinese Modernization is held at the Western China International Communication Organization in Chongqing on June 18, 2026. (Photo/WCICO)

Under the theme "Advancing Modernization Together, Building a Shared Future," the symposium focused on "Mutual Learning and Development of the Global South on Chongqing's Practice of Chinese Modernization." It was jointly hosted by the Publicity Department of the CPC Chongqing Municipal Committee, the Institute of Marxism of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and the Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLACSO), and organized by the Western China International Communication Organization (WCICO).

Pablo Vommaro, Executive Director of CLACSO, delivers remarks at the International Symposium on the Global Significance of Chinese Modernization in Chongqing on June 18, 2026. (Photo/WCICO)

Pablo Vommaro, Executive Director of CLACSO, said his field visit to Chongqing showed a megacity growing within complex terrain. He said this demonstrates that modernization does not mean flattening different territories into one uniform model, but depends on creative adaptation and long-term strategy.

Vommaro said CLACSO has worked with partners in Chongqing to launch the Spanish edition of Six Perspectives on Chinese Modernization, which he expects to become a platform for mutual learning.

At the opening ceremony, the symposium released its 2026 key research projects, covering Southeast Asian connectivity, comparative research on urban governance between Chongqing and Latin American cities, and ecological protection in the Yangtze and Amazon basins. Cooperation agreements were signed with the Asia Research Institute at the National University of Singapore, CLACSO, and Brazil's Fundação Maurício Grabois. An expert committee composed of more than 20 Chinese and international scholars was also established.

The 2026 key research projects are released during the International Symposium on the Global Significance of Chinese Modernization in Chongqing on June 18, 2026. (Photo/WCICO)

During the keynote session, Qin Xuan, President of the Academy of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era at Renmin University of China, said Chongqing, as a major city in central and western China, has overcome the limits of inland regional development over the past 29 years since it became a municipality directly under the central government. He said the city has transformed from an old industrial base into a manufacturing hub in western China and explored cross-provincial coordination mechanisms, offering references for megacity governance and regional modernization in Global South countries.

Wang Wen, Dean and professor of Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, compared Chinese modernization with Western modernization across five dimensions: scale and efficiency, value goals, civilizational ecology, development path, and culture and institutions.

Using Chongqing as an example, Wang said the city is a typical beneficiary of coordinated regional development. He said practices, including poverty alleviation and rural revitalization, reflect the concept of sharing development outcomes among all people.

Daniela Perrotta, an expert from CLACSO, discussed Chinese modernization from the perspective of Latin America's development challenges. She said Latin American countries have long faced bottlenecks such as limited production diversification and heavy dependence on commodity exports. China's sustained investment in industrial policy, infrastructure, and technological innovation, she said, offers an important reference.

Perrotta identified four directions for China-Latin America cooperation: green transition, connectivity, technological cooperation, and cultural mutual learning. She also said Chongqing has significant potential in renewable energy and carbonization technologies, and could become an important point of cooperation in the green transition between China and Latin America.

Péter Szitás, Deputy Director of Research at the Danube Institute, focused on green transition. He said China has become a major global contributor to renewable and clean energy, accounting for 80% of the global solar supply chain, while more than 70% of battery production capacity is concentrated in China.

Szitás said China's green transition offers opportunities for technological cooperation and industrial upgrading for Central and Eastern European countries. Referring to his impression of Chongqing, he said, "There are more new energy vehicles on the road than traditional vehicles. That is a real green transition." He added that, as Hungary is also an inland country, Chongqing's experience in moving from an inland hinterland to an opening-up frontier is instructive.

Ali Cheshmehzangi, Professor and Head of the School of Architecture, Design and Planning at The University of Queensland, delivers a keynote speech at the International Symposium on the Global Significance of Chinese Modernization in Chongqing on June 18, 2026. (Photo/WCICO)

Ali Cheshmehzangi, Professor and Head of School of Architecture, Design and Planning at the University of Queensland, shared reflections on his book Urban Sustainability: City Walks in Chongqing. He described Chongqing as a model city in operation, saying that its open, inclusive, and people-centered urban governance reflects Chinese modernization at the local level.

A roundtable discussion themed “From Shared Development Goals to Local Practice: Chinese Modernization and Development Pathways for the Global South” brought together Chinese and international experts to discuss how Chinese modernization can provide a reference for Latin America and other Global South regions.

The event also launched Global Vision, an international observation program designed to move think tank research into international communication and policy dialogue. 

The Global Vision international observation program was officially launched during the International Symposium on the Global Significance of Chinese Modernization in Chongqing on June 18, 2026. (Photo/WCICO)

A themed book exhibition was also held at the WCICO park. Organized around "Theory – Practice – Dialogue," the exhibition featured The Governance of China, the Six Perspectives of Chinese Modernization series, and works from CLACSO, as well as Chongqing's local theoretical and practical achievements, presenting Chinese and international scholarship side by side.

The Book Exhibition on the Global Significance of Chinese Modernization is held on June 18, 2026. (Photo/WCICO)