London studies development in China, and leaves inspired

INSPIRING. That's how Manny Lewis, London's top man in charge of sustainable economic development, described his six-day trip to China last month.

Lewis made China the sole destination of his first trip to Asia because he was eager to see what London had to learn from as well as share with the country's two most important cities.

"I've been really motivated to come to Beijing and Shanghai first because of the economic miracle here," he told Shanghai Daily. "I wanted to better understand the planning and strategies of the local governments in delivering this rapid change."

He spent three days in each of the two cities meeting with municipal officials and business leaders.

"The discussions we had were very informed," he said.

Since taking on the job of chief executive of the London Development Agency three years ago, the 47-year-old has been working seven days a week executing a 700-million-pound (10.7 billion yuan) economic development program in London.

The LDA is an organization attached to the London Mayor's office. Lewis reports directly to Mayor Ken Livingston. His job description? "To ensure that London remains a global success story."

With such a heavy responsibility on his shoulders, it wasn't surprising to find the career public servant on the lookout for lessons he could take away with him from his China trip. He wasn't disappointed.

During his visit to Zhongguan Village Science Park in Beijing, China's version of the Silicon Valley, he was introduced to a project to cluster laboratories of Chinese scientists who had received their training overseas.

"By bringing them together, these scientists can integrate all of that world knowledge to produce more catalytic research and development spin-offs," he said.

"We would tend to cluster across the sector but not think about a concentration of international knowledge and the power that might have."

He was also impressed by the "clear commitment" he saw in Beijing and Shanghai to lower the carbon footprint of development.

One project in Beijing saw companies bidding for research grants to develop new technologies that reduce carbon emissions. The criteria used to judge bids was how cheaply the technology could be developed and how efficiently it could be put into mass production.

"It's encouraging innovation in low-cost low-carbon technologies that are capable of being up-scaled," said Lewis, admitting London had never tried such a scheme.

He said such technologies were important to counter the negative environmental consequences of fast economic growth.

And it was China's rapid development that had caught Lewis' attention. After all, he pointed out, to have sustainable economic growth, you first need to have, well, economic growth.

"I think Shanghai and Beijing are absolutely right in prioritizing high levels of GDP and setting ambitious targets for infrastructural growth," he said.

He described Shanghai as a world city that had "taken shape at an astonishing rate with bold, high impact, intensified design."

However, he believes that just as imperative as achieving expansion was the ability to spread its fruits out more evenly.

"Government must learn to create a stronger link between a successful city and successful residents," he said.

In this area, London has some experience of its own to share aiding its low-income residents by making available cheaper housing and better skills training.

LDA, for instance, helped draft a law in London that requires half of all new housing projects to be devoted to affordable housing. The rule further insists that 35 percent of projects have to be rented out to low-income families.

At the same time, London has an education-for-employment program to equip migrants with the basic skills that will land them jobs. The scheme was invented to help the city cope with high levels of migration from Asian and African countries.

"Many international cities face this issue, and, of course, it is the big issue for Shanghai," he said. "We find that the question is how they can get basic skills, like numeracy, literacy, and language and communication skills."

Lewis also took time to meet with Olympic Games and World Expo officials in Beijing and Shanghai.

All three cities, after all, were in the midst of intense preparation for major events. Beijing and London play host to the Olympics in 2008 and 2012. The World Expo will take place in Shanghai in 2010.

What concerned Lewis the most was not so much making sure the event itself was a success, but that it would have long term benefits for the city's residents.

"Cities that push hard on legacy objectives in their initial planning are cities that truly succeed," he said. "You must think about post-Olympics when you're designing, even bidding, for the Olympics."

This meant making sure venues were sustainable and that the new jobs and infrastructure were permanent.