Official: People always come first in Shanghai's development goals

Shanghai has always adhered to a people-centric approach in its quest to become "a city for the people" as it is aligned with General Secretary Xi Jinping's call for cities to be built by the people and for the people, said Zhao Jiaming, spokesman of the Shanghai delegation, to the ongoing 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, at a news conference on Tuesday.

The general secretary proposed the concept during his inspection tour of Shanghai in 2019, said Zhao, who is also a member of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee and head of the publicity department.

"We have kept in mind the general secretary's trust and will continue to increase efforts to improve people's livelihoods, sense of gain, happiness and security," said Zhao on behalf of the 72 representatives of the Shanghai delegation.

According to Zhao, Shanghai, the birthplace of the Party, has been dedicated to improving the quality of life of local residents through projects that range from renovation of old neighborhoods to construction of childcare centers to modernizing urban governance and constructing a green, convenient and highly livable city.

Over the past five years, Shanghai has been expediting the renovation of its old neighborhoods, and this has benefited more than 165,000 households. As of late July this year, the city has completed renovation of old buildings in the central urban area ahead of schedule, Zhao said.

"We will continue to improve the living conditions of the general public with a resolute attitude and pragmatic measures," he said.

The city has also been keenly exploring more ways to modernize urban governance, and this is exemplified by the introduction of its official e-governance platform, Government Online-Offline Shanghai.

Since its introduction four years ago, the platform has served about 74 million users and processed 263 million applications, according to Zhao.

The number of users on the platform is thrice the number of permanent residents in Shanghai because it also caters to foreigners and residents of other provinces, particularly those who reside in the Yangtze River Delta region, according to the Shanghai government.

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

Shanghai has also made significant strides in improving its environment. One example of this is the latest transformation of the waterfront along the city's Huangpu River and Suzhou Creek into a public greenery space, with the promenade along each river stretching up to 45 and 42 km respectively.

"The waterfront of both rivers has become the city's new name cards and 'reception rooms,'" Zhao said. "When you visit Shanghai next time, you will not only go to the Bund and Lujiazui, but also visit Suzhou Creek, which is very beautiful".

In addition, authorities plan to add more than 600 parks of various types to the city during the 14th Five-Year Plan period.

"We want to make the city greener and more environmentally friendly, and make it a warm home where its 25 million citizens can enjoy a better quality of life," Zhao said.