As China's leading city in the digital economy and mobile services, Hangzhou's municipal and public services have long been renowned for their efficiency and attentiveness. With the continuous increase in Hangzhou's internationalization and expanding global influence, the question arises: How can international visitors and residents in Hangzhou experience the convenience of city life just as locals do? How can Hangzhou further optimize its international services levels? 

On the afternoon of April 7, a seminar on advancing Hangzhou’s international services was held at the Immigration Service Center of Hangzhou Chengxi Sci-Tech Innovation Corridor. Over 30 experts and scholars from various fields related to international services as well as expats in Hangzhou gathered to share insights into the city's efforts to enhance its international services and to discuss the demands, challenges, and pathways for improvement.

To Make Foreigners Feel at Home

As a rising first-tier city in China, Hangzhou's global influence has been steadily growing in recent years, reflected in its climbing rankings among world cities. According to the "Global Cities Index" by A.T. Kearney, Hangzhou ranked 78th globally in 2023, a leap of 39 places from five years ago, marking the largest ascent among Chinese cities.

In another influential ranking, the "World City Register" published by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC), Hangzhou soared to 73rd globally last year, reaching a historical high. In 2023, Hangzhou's population surpassed 12.5 million, making it one of the ten mega-cities in China. Hangzhou has been rated as the "happiest city in China" for 17 consecutive years.

International residents living in Hangzhou genuinely feel the charm of the city. Hangzhou is advancing its urban internationalization with high standards and heartwarming services, to attract more international visitors to Hangzhou not only to appreciate its scenery, culture, and cuisine, but also to enjoy its convenience, efficiency, and safety. Ultimately, they are willing to stay in Hangzhou to achieve shared growth with the city, truly making them feel "at home" in Hangzhou.  

To Balance Modernity with Tradition

During the seminar, it became a consensus to "build a one-stop international services platform". After the G20 Summit and the Asian Games, Hangzhou's urban internationalization has reached a new level. It is at the forefront nationwide in various fields of urban services for internationals visiting and residing in the city. However, many international services are scattered across various urban settings and scenarios online and offline, indicating an urgent need for a comprehensive digital international services platform in Hangzhou, catering to the indispensable governmental and public service needs of the international visitors and residents visiting Hangzhou for tourism, business, study or work purposes, such as payment, transportation, medical services, visa appointments, museum reservations and many others.

Simultaneously, integrating with Hangzhou's International communication brand, Hangzhoufeel, the platform provides vibrant information and guidance on living in Hangzhou for international users upon their arrival.

Now, you can search "city services" in the Alipay App for exploration!

Based on the needs of living and working in Hangzhou, several representatives also emphasized the necessity of utilizing traditional hotline methods to provide bilingual urban services. Only when urban services can accommodate diverse needs can digitization truly fulfill its promotional significance.

To Be Practical and Innovative

Experts at the seminar pointed out that international services cannot do without a "wholeness", that is, international services involve the whole society, the whole cycle, and the whole range of multiple dimensions, requiring government and various service scenes in society to participate. They also agreed that it is essential to strengthen its mechanism. Leveraging the "Hangzhou Urban Internationalization Promotion Regulations" and related policies and documents can effectively mobilize resources from all parties to maximize their impact.

Additionally, international services inherently require a touch of novelty. Shifting from "what we can provide" to "what they need", participants from various fields proposed many innovative ideas and solutions in line with their respective digital development directions. These fresh proposals include online financial services for overseas talent, global mobile data packages, themed tourism products, traditional Chinese medicine treatment and knowledge, online medicine purchase with medical insurance payment, and port visa, among others.

Looking ahead, it is believed that more departments and units will spearhead the development of Hangzhou’s international services, fostering a sense of home for international residents, and effectively elevating Hangzhou's urban "soft power" to a new height.  

The city is striving towards it!