Forum on Swift Response to Public Complaints to enable firsthand experience for guests

The 2026 Beijing Forum on the system of Swift Response to Public Complaints, which is scheduled for October 12 to 13, will highlight how digital and intelligent technologies empower urban governance and enable attendees to experience firsthand how the city responds to the needs of residents, according to a press conference on Tuesday.   Themed "Digital Intelligence Era and People's City", the 2026 edition of the forum is expected to bring together more than 3,200 guests including over 240 international participants from more than 70 countries.   "Besides indoor activities such as the opening and closing ceremonies, a main forum and parallel sub-forums, the forum will also extend the exchange space to the front lines of urban governance and have interactions with residents. We will invite guests to experience firsthand the workflow and mechanisms of the 12345 Citizen Service Hotline and learn about our digital applications. We choose some issues on urban governance such as the hotline's operation, AI-aided communities and old city preservation and invite international guests, experts and scholars, grassroots-level workers, and representatives of citizens  to participate in our salons," said Shen Binhua, deputy secretary general of the People's Government of Beijing Municipality.

Since 2019, adhering to the people-centered development philosophy, Beijing has been innovatively advancing the Swift Response to Public Complaints system reform. The city has established a public service mechanism centered on the 12345 Citizen Service Hotline, which features rapid response to, efficient handling of, and timely feedback to the public's inquiries, requests, suggestions and complaints, and underlines proactive governance. 

For the past seven years, the 12345 Citizen Service Hotline has handled a cumulative total of 180 million cases.

The forum will also witness the release of several publications, including a compilation of research papers on Swift Response to Public Complaints in Beijing, and cases of global urban governance innovation.   "The Swift Response to Public Complaints reform has drawn extensive attention from the international academic community. We have carefully selected nine of the English papers we received, featuring studies by renowned experts and scholars from abroad. The papers focus on the significant achievements in Beijing's  Swift Response to Public Complaints reform, covering the reform of digital governance, the resolution of issues on community governance and people's livelihood, and the improvement of urban development and the quality of people's lives," said Zhang Yi, director of the Capital City Governance Institute under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Launched in 2021, the forum is held every two years, under the permanent theme "People's City, Better Future." This year's edition is co-hosted by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China Media Group, and the Beijing Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government.

Forum on Swift Response to Public Complaints to enable firsthand experience for guests

The yield on the 30-year U.S. Treasury bond rose sharply intraday on Tuesday, hitting 5.623 percent at one point, its highest level since June 2002, driven by worries over rising inflation and the outlook on further Federal Reserve rate hikes.

The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury, closely linked to rates for residential mortgages, auto loans and credit cards, climbed to an intraday high of 5.297 percent.

Meanwhile, the yield on the 2-year Treasury, which is highly correlated with the federal funds rate, traded in a narrow range.

JoAnne Bianco, an investment strategist from BondBloxx Investment Management Corporation, said investors remain highly focused on inflation and are increasingly concerned over the U.S. fiscal deficit and the scale of Treasury issuance.

These factors have led investors to demand a higher-term premium for U.S. Treasuries, pushing bond yields higher, she said.

John C. Williams, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, on Tuesday played down the prospect of another Fed rate hike in October.

He said that following the policy action that the Fed had taken at its September meeting, there is "no need for urgency" for further action.

He said that another rate hike in late 2026 may be appropriate to help bring inflation back to target.

A report released by the Conference Board on Tuesday showed that the U.S. consumers' average and median 12-month inflation expectations rose 0.3 percentage points in September to 6.1 percent and 5.1 percent, respectively.

US 30-year Treasury bond yield hits highest level since June 2002