Recently, a delegation led by Viput Srivaurai, Chairman of the Bangkok Metropolitan Council, Thailand, visited Beijing on a five-day exchange program. With a focus on digital and intelligent governance in large cities, the delegation conducted field visits to relevant institutions and, on behalf of the Bangkok Metropolitan Council, signed a cooperation document with the Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal People’s Congress, adding new momentum to the sister-city relations between Beijing and Bangkok.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of China-Thailand diplomatic relations and the “Golden Jubilee of China-Thailand Friendship”. In 2022, President Xi Jinping paid a historic visit to Thailand, marking a new era for building a China-Thailand community with a shared future. Against this backdrop, the Bangkok delegation’s visit to Beijing served as an important exchange activity under the sister-city framework, carrying great significance for advancing friendly exchanges and practical cooperation between the two cities across multiple sectors.
At the Chaoyang District Social Security Fund Management Center, the delegation learned in detail about the processes for insurance registration and fund management, and experienced firsthand Beijing’s “one-stop online” and “inter-provincial” government services. The delegates spoke highly of Beijing’s use of digital tools to streamline social security procedures and shorten processing times, noting that “Beijing’s highly digitalized social security system is both efficient and convenient.” As Bangkok is currently optimizing its social security service system, the delegation expressed interest in strengthening exchanges with Beijing to introduce advanced service models and technological solutions to enhance local service delivery.
At the 12345 Beijing Citizen Hotline Service Center, the delegation toured the call center and studied Beijing’s innovative mechanisms for using big data to analyze public demands, predict livelihood issues, and facilitate interdepartmental coordination. Upon learning that in 2024 Beijing’s 12345 hotline handled over 24 million public requests, with both resolution and satisfaction rates continuing to rise, the delegates remarked that “Beijing’s application of big data and AI in responding to public demands is highly inspiring.” They expressed the hope to establish a long-term exchange mechanism with Beijing to draw on its experience in enhancing the responsiveness and satisfaction of public services in Bangkok.
To address issues such as transit network expansion, passenger growth, and mounting operational pressure in Bangkok’s rail transit system, the delegation visited the Beijing Metro Network Control Center. They observed Beijing’s practices in network planning, real-time passenger flow monitoring, intelligent train dispatching, and emergency management. The delegates highly commended the city’s smart and targeted metro operations, commenting that “Beijing’s smart transport solutions offer valuable insights for Bangkok.” They also exchanged views with relevant officials from the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport on topics including green and low-carbon initiatives and congestion mitigation, agreeing to maintain continued communication for deeper collaboration.
During the visit, Chairman Viput Srivaurai noted that Beijing has actively leveraged big data, AI, and other technologies to explore effective pathways for smart urban governance. He expressed the hope that, through the sister-city cooperation platform between Bangkok and Beijing, the two sides will continue to deepen exchanges, strengthen mutual learning, and advance deep and practical cooperation across various fields.
