On October 23, the “Mauritania Seminar on Learning from China’s Digital Economy Development Experience”, organized by the Ministry of Commerce and undertaken by SBS’s MOFCOM Training Base for International Business Officials (Shanghai), conducted a field study at the Yixing City Operations Center in Jiangsu Province. Twenty-three officials from Mauritanian government institutions including the Ministry of Digital Transformation and Administrative Modernization, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research participated in this exchange activity.
(Participants posing for a group photo at the Yixing City Operations Center)
In the command hall of the Yixing City Operations Center, a massive 200-square-meter curved display screen became the focal point for participants. The screen presented real-time data on over 400 aspects of urban operations, such as traffic, water affairs, and government service hotlines, vividly demonstrating the system integration and collaborative efficiency of the “Unified Network Management” approach in urban governance. Professor Mohamed Mahmoud El Benni, specializing in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science from the University of Nouakchott, remarked, “This system effectively integrates multi-source urban data, providing a significant reference for addressing challenges in digital governance like inter-departmental coordination and poor data sharing.”
(Scene of interaction and exchange among participants)
During the exchange session, the participants focused on the practical implementation of the “people-centered” approach in digital governance. In the “Public Demand” exhibition area, the large screen displayed the processing progress and public satisfaction ratings regarding issues reported through the 12345 hotline, such as illegal overhead charging cables, street vendor occupation, and bus schedules. Mr. Boureima Cheikh Soufi, Inspector from the Mauritanian Ministry of Digital Transformation and Administrative Modernization, noted, “Incorporating public satisfaction into performance evaluations is a practice worth learning. The ultimate goal of digital governance is to enhance the citizens’ sense of benefit and satisfaction.”
Mr. Ahmed Lehbib Ebnou, Deputy Director of Administrative Modernization from the Mauritanian Ministry of Digital Transformation and Administrative Modernization, summarized that Yixing’s “Unified Network Management” practice offers a provides a replicable model for developing countries to advance the modernization of governance capabilities. He emphasized that its core lies in adhering to a public demand-oriented approach, empowering the grassroots through technology, and forming a methodology that is replicable and scalable.
Recognized as a typical case by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Yixing “Unified Network Management” model is gradually becoming a significant practice through which China participates in global digital governance cooperation. Following the event, the Mauritanian seminar group expressed its intention to draw upon China’s successful experience in urban digital governance, adapting it to the country’s national context, to promote in-depth bilateral cooperation in relevant fields and continuously enhance the level of urban public services and public welfare in Mauritania.
Written by: Liu Liu
Photography by: Song Weilan
Reviewed by: Chen Wei
