A new dimension to consultation at Shanghai's two sessions

Over 1,600 lawmakers and political advisers have been able to perform consultations through an online platform for the first time during Shanghai's annual two sessions.

The platform was created by Shanghai's big data center and internet company Tencent as traditional offline consulting has been affected due to the pandemic.

A total of 672 representatives from 44 organizations have offered online consultation services for lawmakers and political advisers during the meeting. In the past, these organizations would set up booths at the conference site and provide consultation.

Legislators and advisers attending Shanghai's two sessions can consult with government officials and follow up with them on the progress of different affairs in real time through a designated WeChat service account or Shanghai's government affairs official portal. The online system also enables them to review conversation histories, providing convenience for repeated consulting.

Officials expected to answer the queries can learn about what the members are most concerned about through statistical analysis of the data collected by the platform, said Arthur Su, vice general manager of Tencent QiDian, a smart client management platform of Tencent Cloud.

"The system is designed to sort out and summarize significant social concerns to make their responses more pertinent and timely," Su said. "The online service also allows them to fully prepare for the content of their feedback and improve communication efficiency."

Wu Miaomiao in Shanghai contributed to this story.