Auckland mayor joins global city leaders at Ningbo forum

Officials from 15 countries met in Ningbo, China, from Nov. 2 to 5 for the 2026 Global Mayors Dialogue, where they signed 14 cooperation projects and released a consensus on open city development. The event put Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown alongside leaders from Egypt, Europe and other regions as cities pushed ties in trade, technology, education and culture.

Why it matters: - The Ningbo meeting brought city leaders together around trade, logistics, technology and cultural links at a time when cities are looking for practical cross-border cooperation. - The signed projects and new consensus point to concrete follow-through, not just discussion, across multiple areas of local development.

What happened: - Wayne Brown, mayor of Auckland, joined officials from 15 countries at the 2026 Global Mayors Dialogue · Ningbo in Zhejiang province, China. - The forum ran from Nov. 2 to 5, 2026. - Ahmed Wazeery, secretary-general of Suez Governorate, attended, along with Hosam Alkaweesh, Egypt's assistant minister of local development and environment. - Other participants included Enrico Ricci of Florence, Said Karimi of Errachidia in Morocco, Aleksandar Kitanski of Pehčevo in North Macedonia and Sebastian Kovacs of Wiener Neustadt in Austria. - Representatives from international organizations included Liu Meng of the China Office of the United Nations Global Compact and Zhou Qiangwu, former vice president and chief administrative officer of the New Development Bank.

The details: - The event theme was “Openness and Connectivity for Shared Opportunities.” - The program included one main mayoral dialogue, two scenario dialogues and three cultural exchange activities. - Guests visited Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, Ningbo Yaji Logistics Co., Ltd., Ningbo PIA Automation Holding Corp., Peacebird Group, Dongqian Lake and the Old Bund. - At Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, described as the world’s largest port by cargo throughput, participants examined how a city can open further and where new opportunities may emerge. - At Ningbo PIA Automation, they toured workshops where embodied robots are produced. - Fourteen cooperation projects were signed at the main session. - The projects covered friendly exchanges, economic and trade cooperation, science and technology, education and cultural tourism. - Yuyao in Zhejiang and Errachidia in Morocco established friendly exchange relations. - Yinzhou District of Ningbo and Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray in France also established friendly exchange relations. - The Ningbo Consensus on Cooperative Development was released. - The consensus calls on cities to stay open and connected, deepen industrial collaboration, strengthen people-to-people ties and keep industrial and supply chains stable and flowing. - The program also included a seven-section exhibition, “Ningbo and the World,” focused on local companies taking Ningbo's culture overseas. - At the Night of Ningbo, classic books selected by Ningbo and the visiting cities were added to the collection of Tianyi Pavilion, built in 1561 and described as China's oldest surviving private library.

Between the lines: - The forum blended policy talks with site visits and cultural programming, signaling that Ningbo is presenting itself as both an industrial hub and a city with exportable soft power. - The emphasis on supply chains, port access and embodied robots reflects how local governments are linking city diplomacy to economic competitiveness. - Joachim Moyse, mayor of Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray and vice president of Métropole Rouen Normandie, said the dialogue served as a round table for building a framework for peace. - Moyse said representatives should work together when the world makes it easy for people to lose hope, and he said he wanted to bring Ningbo's people-centered city practices back to France.

What's next: - The cooperation projects, exchange agreements and consensus document create a framework for follow-up between Ningbo and the participating cities. - The cities involved are likely to use the new ties to advance exchanges in business, education, technology and culture.

The bottom line: - Ningbo used the mayoral forum to turn city diplomacy into signed deals, expanded relationships and a broader pitch for open, connected urban development.