A delegation of politicians including political party leaders from several South American countries visited the Beijing Government Service Center on Tuesday to learn about the city's government service system.
The South American politicians learned about the municipal systems and management measures that Beijing is implementing to enhance public service efficiency, such as the operation of the "12345" citizen service hotline, and the effectiveness of the reform of the "immediate response to complaints" mechanism.
Chilean politician Ivonne Donosso positively assessed Beijing's citizen service mechanism for its immediate, timely and centralized responses.
"This is a tremendous opportunity to learn about their citizen service mechanism, which provides such immediate responses to requests that are often essential for people making all kinds of inquiries. It is centralized and offers timely, fast responses that precisely address the needs of those who come to this center for assistance," Donosso said.
Oscar Andrade, secretary general of the Communist Party of Uruguay, highlighted the people-centered approach that China applies to the service center system.
"We look at this with great hope -- how they achieve a scientific, technological, productive, and also democratic transformation. The process of democratic transformation is an example of trying to place an ethical concept at the core. That is to say, the people must be at the center, the community must be at the center. From an international perspective, in these complex times we live in, humanity must have a shared future. This is a space for hope," Andrade said.
Lucas Coradini, director of the Center for Public Policy Studies at the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Rio Grande do Sul (IFRS), praised the technological advancement applied to public services, as it is key to reducing inequality and poverty.
"Technological advancement undoubtedly translates into reduced inequality and poverty. But you cannot talk about poverty reduction without ensuring democratic access to public services. China has achieved this very efficiently through technology and service digitalization," Coradini said.
This visit and exchange with South American politicians including political party leaders helps disseminate Chinese solutions in urban governance and lays the foundation for greater exchanges in the future.
Delegation of South American politicians visits Beijing Government Service Center
