Based on the different characteristics and needs of students, community workers, and institutions with overseas business, Beijing Municipal Foreign Affairs Office held three meetings on consular protection from February 26 to March 1, 2023. The aim was to share experience and best practices in preventive consular protection and enhance public awareness of consular protection services in an effort to provide better services to Beijing citizens.

Advise on overseas safety

On February 26, students, parents, and members of overseas education consultancies shared experiences of studying and living abroad. Experts specialized in overseas safety imparted necessary skills and practical knowledge to students who plan to study abroad, which helped enhance their safety awareness and ability to handle everyday challenges and emergencies. Thanks to the pre-departure training session, students were equipped with a strong sense of patriotism, heightened safety awareness, and necessary skills and literacy to thrive academically while staying safe and sound.

Build warm-hearted service teams as exemplars

On February 28, community leaders and officials responsible for Party affairs shared their experiences as consular protection service providers. Thanks to the dedicated efforts of community publicists, who play an important role in promoting consular services at the community level, a robust service network was established, ensuring easy access to services for residents. In light of the actual conditions of the community, the Deputy Party Secretary of Gaojing Road Community of Shijingshan District has developed a new approach that integrates consular protection promotion with community work and Party building. The warm-hearted services have enhanced residents' safety awareness and risk prevention skills.

Provide targeted services throughout the whole process

On March 1, representatives from more than 20 enterprises with overseas business, including the Beijing Branch of China CITIC Bank, Beijing Urban Construction Group (BUCG), and Shoucheng Holdings, convened an online meeting to exchange insights on integrating consular protection knowledge with pre-departure training for overseas employees, security management of overseas projects, and corporate services, so as to incorporate consular protection services into companies' everyday operations and set an example for safe overseas operations.

Acclaim from the participants:

"Since learning how to stay safe abroad is an important lesson for students before they leave, we will include consular protection education in our pre-departure courses to ensure their safety," a representative from an overseas education consultancy said.

A Party official from Xisi Beisantiao Community of Xicheng District said that such activities enable community residents to access professional consular protection information, which not only greatly enriches the content and forms of Party building, but also meets the needs of residents.

According to a representative from the Beijing Branch of China CITIC Bank, "as consular protection services are inseparable from our bank's overseas financial business, we will implement more training programs to raise awareness of overseas risk prevention."

Acting on the principle of "foreign affairs for the people", Beijing Municipal Foreign Affairs Office made active efforts to advance preventive consular protection in 2022. This included issuing more than 300 push notifications on overseas safety through its official website and WeChat official account, as well as organizing 25 events, establishing 20 channels, and holding 14 exhibitions to promote consular protection. Relevant information tailored to the needs of enterprises, individuals, institutions, and communities was disseminated through various promotional channels, reaching over 10 million people.

This year, Beijing Municipal Foreign Affairs Office will continue to take solid steps to promote consular protection, so as to provide more comprehensive protection for the residents and institutions of the city.