PARIS, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- The second Franco-Chinese Forum, "Franco-Chinese confluences", opened Monday in the French city of Lyon, with the theme of "the city of a new era, for a Sustainable Silk Road".

This forum, which will last until Wednesday, brings together many people in the economic, academic and cultural sectors to exchange their views on future urban planning, circular economy, new opportunities for cooperation between Europe and China, etc.

This forum "has the great interest of being a privileged time to share experiences on the challenges we have to reveal, both French and Chinese local authorities and communities, in the era of climate change, digital revolution, urbanization...," said David Kimelfeld, mayor of Lyon, on the occasion of the opening of the forum.

"There is a rich history crossed between Lyon and China, and this story continues to be written today in all areas," Kimelfeld said, noting that "our region is the first in France to have number of employees who work for Chinese groups."

The mayor said that Lyon now hosts more than 3,000 Chinese students each year and Chinese students have represented the first community of foreign students in Lyon for three years, adding that "it's a revolution because we were used to host students from French-speaking countries."

The first edition of the Franco-Chinese Forum "Franco-Chinese confluences" took place from Sept. 25 to 27, 2017 in Lyon.