The city of Guiyang, capital of Guizhou province has become China's first city to gain membership in the International Council of Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) thanks to its effort to build an eco-friendly city as it looks for partnerships with organization to promote sustainability and eco-friendly civilization for the future.

ICLEI is a major network of metropolises, cities and towns worldwide, founded in 1990, with HQ in the Federal City of Bonn , in Germany, that now has at least 1,000 members in around 86 countries globally covering 660-million people.

Its stated purpose is "to build and serve a worldwide movement of local governments to achieve tangible improvement in global sustainability, with special focus on environmental conditions" and to bring "Chinese cities opportunities for engagement with ICLEI's programs and events" and increase cooperation with members.

Guiyang's membership is expected to help the city and even the whole province in building an eco-friendly civilization through cooperation with other members in environmental protection and ecological industry development.