Local participation in international exchanges represents a crucial pathway for implementing major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics，constructing an international discourse system，and promoting mutual learning among civilizations. Based on varying levels of engagement depth and functional orientation，local international exchanges can be categorized into three progressive dimensions：emotional，platform-based，and intellectual，forming a multidimensional external engagement framework. The Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovation emerged from Guangzhou’s foundation of emotional exchanges such as international friendship-building. The Award’s 1.0 phase established an event framework that fulfilled platform-based exchange functions，while the 2.0 phase developed an urban innovation evaluation system，marking a successful transition to intellectual exchanges and establishing itself as Guangzhou’s signature brand in comprehensively serving major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics. Looking ahead，the Guangzhou Award could further strengthen its attributes as an international public good through three strategic directions：first，by “bringing the evaluation system to grassroots levels” to achieve broader global local implementation；second，by “elevating best practices to higher echelons” to help award-winning cases gain support from major international organizations；and third，by “integrating case studies into academic research” to enhance the Award’s scholarly value and practical vitality.