Co-hosted by the FuTURE Forum and the 21st Century Foundation (China Taiwan), and organized by the Industrial 5G Innovative Application (Dali) Research Institute, the "2025 Cross-Strait Smart City Symposium" was successfully held on July 14 at the Dali International Conference Center in Yunnan Province. Representatives from government, industry, academia, and research institutions across the strait gathered to engage in in-depth exchanges and practical discussions on emerging trends in smart city development.

Under the theme "Technology Empowerment: Co-Creating a New Paradigm for Cross-Strait Smart Cities," the symposium focused on key areas including urban management, intelligent manufacturing, the Internet of Things, green energy, and smart transportation. The event aimed to build a high-level platform for mutual trust and cooperation, facilitating the flow and integration of advanced technologies, quality enterprises, and top-tier talent between the two sides, while promoting deep coupling across industrial chains, innovation chains, and talent chains.

In his opening address, Zhang Xinsheng, a veteran communications expert, noted that Taiwan has achieved remarkable results in mobile communications development, smart governance, and urban information integration. Meanwhile, across mainland China, 5G-A has been piloted in areas such as smart transportation, smart healthcare, intelligent emergency response, and green building, with significant outcomes. He emphasized that both sides have complementary strengths in smart city development, presenting enormous cooperation potential. As an important platform bridging industry and research, the FuTURE Forum remains committed to advancing cross-strait deep collaboration in mobile communications, smart cities, and related fields.

A representative from the 21st Century Foundation pointed out that the current industrial transformation—marked by the rise of low-orbit communications, the AI boom, and the widespread construction of data centers—presents a prime opportunity for both sides to embark on a new chapter in industrial development. The Foundation expressed its hope to work with all sectors to build communication platforms and continue cultivating fields such as smart communications and platform economies, with the goal of establishing cutting-edge, leading-edge development for the Chinese community.

Fu Jun, Deputy Secretary-General of the FuTURE Forum, stated that the future of smart cities represents new possibilities for synergistic development between people and people, city and city, and industry and industry. Cross-strait grassroots wisdom and corporate strength have always been a solid bond driving cooperation and development. He expressed the hope that through the exchange of ideas between enterprises on both sides, more cooperation opportunities can be uncovered, contributing to urban transformation, industrial upgrading, and public welfare.

Fu Jun, Deputy Secretary-General of the FuTURE Forum

The symposium attracted active participation from major enterprises and research institutions across the strait. Local government officials, including Luo Feng, Research Fellow of the Yunnan Provincial Department of Science and Technology, and Li Hongcai, Director of the Dali Prefecture Science and Technology Bureau, also attended the meeting. Participating organizations included China Telecom, China Unicom, Walsin Lihwa, Qualcomm China, ZTE, Advantech, the Taiwan Green Energy Industry Alliance, the Taiwan Smart City Industry Alliance, ASUS Cloud, Taiwan AI Cloud, and Xiangwang Intelligent Technology, among other well-known enterprises and institutions. Attendees shared insightful views on core smart city topics such as low-altitude development, autonomous driving, BeiDou applications, edge intelligence, connectivity plus computing power, land-sea-air integrated transportation, and slow traffic systems.

Dong Jianxun, Director of the Dali Prefecture Investment Promotion Bureau, remarked during the symposium that Dali, as the only Bai autonomous prefecture in China, is home to the shimmering Erhai Lake and the misty Cangshan Mountains—which echo with Taiwan's Sun Moon Lake and Alishan—carrying a shared bond of landscape stewardship and fostering an emotional connection for cross-strait collaboration in building smart cities. Dali boasts unique natural resources and an open, inclusive business environment, making it an ideal destination for living, tourism, and investment. The symposium also serves as an important vehicle for implementing Dali's "Revitalizing the Prefecture through Science and Technology" strategy and its "Talent Attraction and Investment Promotion" policies. By building a high-quality smart city exchange platform, the event aims to facilitate the landing of advanced technologies, quality enterprises, and top-tier talent in Dali, supporting its development as a "Smart Open Gateway" to South Asia and Southeast Asia.