The EU-China Eco-Cities Link (EC LINK) Project is the key project of the EU-China Urbanisation Partnership, which was launched in May 2012 in Brussels by Premier Li Keqiang and EU President Jose Manuel Barroso. Its purpose is to provide technical assistance to the China Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MoHURD) and to Chinese municipalities in achieving the low-carbon urban development targets of the 12th five-year plan. The project was tendered EU- and China-wide in November 2012, and a shortlist of six teams was announced in early 2013. Urbanlogic supported the successful bid of GIZ International Services by editing and contributing to the technical parts of the offer and to the overall strategy.
The EC LINK project comprises seven results: 1. An IT-based support mechanism and secretariat, 2. Toolboxes for low-carbon development, 3. A Sino-European pilot city, 4. The strengthening of EU-China municipal partnerships, 5. A helpdesk for Chinese municipalities, 6. Support on financial tools and 7. The visualisation of the preceding six results.
The EC LINK contract was signed in the Great Hall of the People on November 21, 2013, by EU Ambassador Markus Ederer and the China Vice-Minister for Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Mr. Qiu Baoxing, and in the presence of Premier Li Keqiang and EU President Jose Manuel Barroso.