Authorities give update on Shanghai e-governance platform

Shanghai's official e-governance platform received a user satisfaction rate of 99.96 percent in 2022, according to statistics released by the Shanghai government on Thursday.

Established in 2018, the portal, Government Online-Offline Shanghai, is the first provincial-level digital government service platform in China. There are currently 61 government departments offering 3,622 services on the one-stop platform.

As of the end of March, the platform had served more than 80 million users and processed 336 million applications, according to statistics from its operator, the Shanghai Big Data Center.

"Over 84 percent of government services, for both companies and individuals, were processed through the platform in 2022," said Zhu Junwei, deputy director of the Shanghai Big Data Center, during his address to the media on Thursday.

"Customers no longer need to meet service staff in person - they can now complete their applications online. The platform aims to foster innovation in governance paradigms, creates new digital governing approaches, and helps with the city's digital transformation," he added.

Zhu also noted that the platform has been constantly updated over the years, with the key focus being improving the user experience, as well as efficiency and accuracy of government services.

Recent developments to the platform include an expansion of online services related to matters like tax payments and visa applications, providing personalized services based on citizen data, and integrating AI technology to improve service quality.

Nearly all government services, including those related to education, health care, public transportation, and even company registration, are available on the platform.

"We have also taken into consideration the needs of users like expatriates and those with special needs such as the elderly and those with disabilities when developing accessible mobile applications," Zhu said.

The platform's impact is not limited to Shanghai as it also caters to foreigners and residents of other provinces, particularly those who reside in the Yangtze River Delta region. As of March, the platform had 79.69 million individual users and 3.11 million enterprise users, which is more than triple the number of permanent residents in Shanghai.

Over the last five years, the platform has handled 336 million applications while helping with inquiries and related application services for 18 core categories that include company registration, business change and deregistration, as well as residency.

Shanghai also released two city-level rules, including a data management policy in 2021, to ensure data safety and boost the platform's development.