China needs to build new alliances among cities in southeastern Asia, a platform to promote environmental cooperation among governments, companies and social organizations, a regional green NGO suggested on Tuesday.

China has launched the project to promote regional cooperation on environmental protection with member states of the Association of South East Asian Nations, based on efforts conducted in the past six years.

The new project, China – ASEAN Strategy on Environmental Cooperation (2016-20), has been jointly formulated and developed among the member states in which ecologically friendly cities have been listed as a priority, said a report released the China-ASEAN Environmental Cooperation Center.

The building of ecologically friendly cities has been considered a major solution to address problems of urban ecological and biodiversity conservation, the report said.

The center and exporters took part in a seminar which suggested China establish the eco-cities alliance to promote cooperation among cities in the region which allow more governments, companies and social organizations to participate.

The private sector, including enterprise, should be encouraged to play a bigger role in ecologically friendly urban development, the report suggested.