By Qian Cheng, Research Team on "How Digital Technologies influence China's Urban Governance", Institute for Public Administration and Human Resources, DRC

Research Report, No.21, 2023 (Total 6970) 2023-2-7

Abstract: In recent years, global digital technologies have made robust progress, promoting changes in production and daily life, becoming an important driving force to promote the modernization of urban governance and influencing China's urban public service development. China has seen rapid development of such digital technologies as big data, blockchain and artificial intelligence. Some smart technologies are widely applied in urban life, and their application scenarios are constantly expanded, which accordingly have been integrated into smart city construction. This has continuously enhanced the efficiency of urban public services and made digital public services more inclusive, constantly providing strong support for people's well-being in areas of employment, education, health care and elderly care. On the basis of the mechanism of a logically interrelated relationship between digital technologies and public service capacity, efficiency and fairness , the report proposes corresponding suggestions on such prominent problems as monopolies, privacy security and regulatory coordination related to digital technologies, as well as the digital divide and service capacity, by combining practices, achievements and experience in urban public services powered by digital technologies in the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hangzhou.   

Key words: digital technologies, urban public services, logical mechanism, local exploration