The main event of this year's World Cities Day China will be held in Shanghai from Oct 28 to 31, officials announced at a news briefing on Thursday.

Hosted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Shanghai government, and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, the event this year is themed "financing sustainable urban future for all" and will gather city planning professionals from around the world and officials from foreign embassies and consulates in China.

The event will include an opening ceremony and more than 20 sub-forums and side events. The opening ceremony of the main event will be held on Oct 28 at the North Bund in Shanghai.

The inaugural Global Sustainable Cities Award, or Shanghai Award, will be presented during the opening ceremony to recognize five cities around the world that have made great strides in implementing the goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the New Urban Agenda, said Jin Chen, deputy director of the Shanghai Housing and Urban-Rural Construction Management Commission.

Yang Rong, a coordinator of China affairs at the UN Human Settlements Programme, said that the award focuses on four major dimensions: economic vitality and urban prosperity, ecological construction and green development, urban safety and resilience development, and capacity building for sustainable development.

"A total of 54 cities from 16 countries around the world applied to be considered for the award. They cover cities in developed countries, developing countries and least developed ones at different levels of development, income and demographics," he said.

Li Zhe, vice division head of programme finance at the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, said China has over the past years made steady progress in urban renewal and improving the quality of housing and city infrastructure.

As of the end of 2022, the urbanization rate of China's permanent population was more than 65 percent, and the length of roads in cities totaled 548,500 km, he added. Meanwhile, the gas coverage rate, sewage treatment rate, and harmless household waste treatment rate in Chinese cities had reach 98.08 percent, 97.89 percent, and 99.92 percent respectively.