Tadatoshi Akiba, mayor of Hiroshima called for closer ties between cities worldwide in a bid to promote peace and development.

The Japanese mayor said at the Asia Pacific Cities Summit, which opened in western China's municipality of Chongqing Wednesday morning, that the 21st century will be an "age of cities" rather than of any single country.

Cities have played a key role in all countries' development throughout history, he said, noting that the current international community is facing many challenges such as terrorism and environmental protection, which calls for wider cooperation between the cities.

Hiroshima and Chongqing, which established friendly ties in 1986, have cooperated in a wide range of fields ever since, he said.

Beverly O'Neill, mayor of the Long Beach city of US, agreed that cities should contribute more to the world's social and economic development.

In the United States, the urban economy accounts for over 80 percent of the national economy, she told the summit .

Chinese mega-cities have also prompted the country's economic progress in recent years.

Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng said here that after decades of reform and opening-up, his city has witnessed soaring economic growth and is pushing forward economic development in the Yangtze River Delta, along the Yangtze River economic belt and even in the whole nation.

Shanghai will further cooperation with other cities both from home and abroad and endeavor to make itself a center of international finance, trade and transportation by 2020, Han said.

The first Asia Pacific Cities Summit was held in Brisbane, Australia, in 1997. This year's fifth summit is the first of its kind ever held in Asia.

Source: Xinhua