China News Service, Suzhou, September 13 (Reporter Xue Lingqiao) "After visiting Shanghai and Jiangsu Province, I deeply understood the inherent connection between urban development, public space and quality of life. At the same time, this trip also helped us further understand how cities should maintain their own characteristics and respond to community needs while responding to changes."
Recently, the "Into the People's Cities: Chinese Governance and Global Mutual Learning" event organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China for local envoys in China (Shanghai-Soviet Tour), visited multiple locations in Shanghai and Jiangsu Province, China, to gain an in-depth understanding of the Chinese People's Urban Governance Concept and the practical results of local urban construction and governance. During his visit to Suzhou, Cyprus Ambassador to China Koula Sophianou highly praised China's positive results in urban governance.
Adjacent rivers and streets, small bridges and flowing water are the urban background of Suzhou. Kunqu opera, gardens, and Suzhou embroidery have long become distinctive symbols for the world to identify China. On the other hand, today's Suzhou accounts for 0.09% of the country's land and 1% of its population, and contributes 2% of the country's total economic output. Suzhou is like the "double-sided embroidery" of Suzhou embroidery: one side is full of cultural prosperity, and the other side is economic prosperity.
After touring the Suzhou water town and inspecting the local low-rise economic development, Sofianu said in an interview with the press group that Suzhou is famous for its classical gardens, canals and cultural heritage, and is also a center of modern industry and innovative development. This trip showed us how cultural heritage, science and technology and forward planning can truly complement each other.
"Urban governance has a simple goal, which is to make everyday life better. It's all about people," Sofianu said.
She pointed out that in Suzhou, envoys from various countries saw with their own eyes technology that truly focuses on people's needs. What particularly impressed her was that drones in Chinese cities can detect forest fires, which helps relevant departments receive early warnings and take timely rescue measures.
"This is crucial because we are seeing across the world that forest fires are becoming more frequent due to climate change. Therefore, early detection is particularly critical. This is a reflection of the contribution of technological progress and artificial intelligence to environmental protection and citizen safety," she said.
Cyprus, located in the northeastern part of the Mediterranean Sea, has a land area of approximately 9,251 square kilometers and a population of approximately 1.25 million. According to Eurostat data for 2025, Cyprus leads the EU in personal AI usage, but enterprise adoption is well below average. As a result, Cyprus is placing artificial intelligence at the core of its digital transformation, with its National Artificial Intelligence Strategy laying out a roadmap to 2032.
Accordingly, Sofianu said that the smart city plan of Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus, is using digital tools to manage parking, lighting, waste and environmental monitoring, and provide accessible parking information; the coastal city of Limassol provides parking service guidance and develops smart lighting to improve energy efficiency. The city also brings together public institutions, businesses, researchers and citizens to develop a roadmap for climate neutrality.
Taking the word "polis" in Greek as an example, she pointed out that during the development of the times, this word derived the related concept of "political community". She emphasized that this linguistic connection reminds us that a city should be a community, a community of people. Here, people share space, rights and responsibilities, and citizens should be at the heart of public life.
In this regard, Sophianu also found the intersection of the two civilizations in the Chinese context.
“I see a meaningful parallel in the Chinese term ‘citizen’, which refers to urban residents and also combines urban areas and people. This also echoes the Chinese principle of ‘people’s cities are built by the people, and people’s cities are for the people’,” Sofianu said.
In different ways, she adds, these traditions express the same basic concern, which is how to organize urban life around human well-being.
Sofianu concluded by saying that for Cyprus, digital development is of great significance to the country’s development and is the key to planning a sustainable community in the country. 2026 marks the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Cyprus and China. She looks forward to the two countries deepening cooperation, focusing on common issues, and sharing practical experience in the fields of sustainable housing, urban ecology, heritage protection, and people-centered public services based on existing contacts.
