The Shanghai Manual is a resource on sustainable urban development for mayors, urban planners and decision-makers in cities across the world.

The manual's chapters are used as training modules in workshops organized by United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs training centers, such as the UN Center for Regional Development, as well as other capacity-building entities.

While all cities have different development conditions, infrastructure, institutions, assets, challenges and levels of stakeholder engagement, city leaders are invited to choose from a menu of policy options the measures most relevant to their respective cities.

The manual is a living document that is continually updated to ensure its relevance to the challenges of urban leadership.

Local government last year released a blueprint for building Shanghai into a global city and modern cosmopolis by 2035, while playing a greater role in the Belt and Road Initiative and Yangtze River Economic Belt.

During the UN-Habitat Assembly, Sharif said there will also be a session launching a book known as Shenzhen Story, which highlights how Shenzhen has been transformed over the past number of years.