The China Cuisine Association (CCA), a Worldchefs national member, brought together culinary, diplomatic, government, industry, and academic representatives in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, for the 2026 Roundtable on Food Creativity and Sustainable Urban Development.
Held on 14 June 2026, ahead of the 10th anniversary of the United Nations Sustainable Gastronomy Day, the event focused on strengthening knowledge exchange and multilateral cooperation in gastronomy creativity, positioning gastronomy as a driver of sustainable urban development.
A key outcome of the roundtable was the release of the Taizhou Initiative on Sustainable Gastronomy Practice in Creative Cities, calling for greater collaboration between cities and global partners through sustainable gastronomy, cultural exchange, and creative development.
The roundtable welcomed representatives from the Consulates General of Argentina, Chile, and Malaysia in Shanghai, alongside government, industry, and academic delegates from five UNESCO Creative Cities of Gastronomy in China — Chengdu, Shunde, Yangzhou, Chaozhou, and Quanzhou — as well as distinguished practitioners from Taizhou.
“We have supported cities nationwide in systematically advancing food heritage preservation, culinary industry cultivation, and international exchange. While presenting Chinese gastronomy to the world, we actively benchmark against global best practices in creative cities — learning from each other and continuously elevating the international profile of China’s gastronomic cities,” said Yang Liu, President of the China Cuisine Association.
Cheng Weibo, Vice Mayor of Taizhou Municipal Government, highlighted Taizhou’s three-pillar approach to sustainable gastronomy: ecological stewardship through globally recognized agricultural heritage systems, industrial leadership in kitchenware manufacturing and culinary technology export, and cross-sector cultural diplomacy that elevates local cuisine into a vehicle for international exchange.
Professor Jia Yunfeng, UN Tourism Expert and Senior Researcher at the University of Münster, Germany, delivered the keynote address “Food Creativity and Sustainable Urban Development: An International Perspective.”
Two thematic dialogues, “Gastronomy: Driving Sustainable Urban Development” and “Food × Creation: Cross-sector Innovation and Diverse Symbiosis,” explored cross-sector integration, culinary diplomacy, communication strategies, and international collaboration in the “Gastronomy+” ecosystem. The discussions also featured vivid, on-the-ground case studies from Taizhou and development pathways shared by representatives from China’s five Creative Cities of Gastronomy.
Looking ahead, the China Cuisine Association will continue to leverage multiple UN international days as anchor points to build regularized exchange and cooperation mechanisms with global partners. Through multilateral platforms, CCA will work hand-in-hand with cities to tell China’s gastronomic story, strengthen China’s culinary industry, and elevate China’s gastronomic city brands, contributing to global sustainable development in creative cities.
