Smart cities call for clever planning

China's move to promote the development of smart cities can open up a huge potential market, but it can also mean risks for investment and construction, an information and security official said on Friday.

Wang Xiujun, deputy director of the State Internet Information Office, said that some local governments had simply introduced the smart cities concept but ignored building basic facilities.

"Some cities hoped to find a new growth engine and push forward their industrial transformation and upgrading by pursuing a smart cities agenda. But they did not really understand what smart cities are," said Wang during the China Smart City Innovation Conference in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province.