On March 17, a delegation from the BRICS Women’s Business Alliance visited the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design. Wang Liqiu, Party Secretary of CAUPD, had a meeting with Lebogang Zulu, Chairperson of South Africa Chapter of BRICS Women’s Business Alliance in 2023, Irene Chukwudebelu, founder of Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum, and Kelikile Elva Kwinana, CEO of Ntando Group in South Africa. The two sides exchanged views on the topic of sustainability and transformation of urban and rural development and discussed practical cooperation. Wang Yanfang, second-level inspector of the Department of Planning, Finance and Foreign Affairs of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, attended the meeting and made a concluding speech. Zhan Rui Chao, Director of the Second Division of International Organizations of Multilateral Cooperation Department of China International Chamber of Commerce (CICC), attended the talks. Zhang Jing, Chief Planner of CAUPD, hosted the talks. 
Secretary Wang Liqiu said that under the leadership of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, CAUPD has actively participated in the relevant initiatives under the framework of BRICS cooperation mechanism in recent years. In particular, in 2022, we hosted two online meetings of the BRICS Urbanization Forum and conducted in-depth discussions on high-quality urban development, deeply appreciating that sustainable development and transformation have become the consensus of the global society. CAUPD has engaged in exploratory practices and accumulated experience in urban renewal, sponge city, resilient city, smart city and age-ready cities, and is willing to actively promote cooperation and exchange with relevant institutions in South Africa on the basis of equal-footed consultation and win-win cooperation. 
Zulu, Chairperson of BRICS WBA, believes that in the context of enormous changes and industrial transformation, the world has entered the digital era, and South Africa has a huge demand for smart city. China has relatively sound solutions in related fields. She expects the CAUPD to help South Africa to improve urban planning and development with expertise.
During the meeting, Tan Jing, Directorial Planner of Green City Institute of CAUPD, Mo Li, Deputy Chief Engineer of Water Institute, Li Qing, Director of Rail Transportation and Standardization Research Office of Transportation Institute and CEO Kwinana of South Africa exchanged information about sustainable urban development and transformation.
Colleagues from the General Office, Economic Management Division and Shenzhen Branch of CAUPD, as well as officers from the Second Division of International Organizations of Multilateral Cooperation Department of CICC attended the meeting.