Credit system propels social development
Print Edition
After Wang Yu donated blood at a Red Cross blood center in Nanjing, capital of east China’s Jiangsu Province, he was told he was eligible for an “honest and trustworthy citizen” card.
“I have been donating blood for many years before I moved to Nanjing several days ago. I just want to help people who need blood. I never thought that donating blood could be associated with personal trustworthiness,” said Wang.
“But the relevance makes my donation more meaningful,” the 33-year-old added.
The city began linking voluntary blood donation with locals’ trustworthiness in November 2016, along with other deeds, including acting bravely for a just case, taking part in charity activities or volunteering.
When residents are found doing such things and meet the standards set by the city’s development and reform commission, they can get a “trustworthy card,” with which they can enjoy discounts with local public services.
“Citizens who own this card can enjoy many benefits. For example, they can get a 50 to 60 percent discount on bus or subway tickets,” said Yang Shasha, a staff member of a state-holding company, which is in charge of issuing the cards.
Yang said the firm has issued nearly 5,000 such cards since 2016, with “more than 10 foreigners” among the recipients.
“Issuing this kind of card serves as an incentive. It’s not only about honesty. With this card, we are promoting an environment of good faith. We also wish to encourage more people to do good deeds, be good people and care about society,” said He Jun, deputy director of the commission.
Besides residents, enterprises can also benefit from the social credit system.
Business condition
The commission said it has built a “credit image” for each enterprise using a credit database and big data. The image displays the credit scores of enterprises, as well as their business condition, development and social effects.
Wu Jianhui’s company had a circulating capital problem after relocating his factory.
“Since my company’s credit standing has been rated level-A by the local tax department, a bank loaned us 2 million yuan (US$301,418) very quickly, that helped us overcome our financial problem,” he said.
In recent years China has been making efforts to build a social credit system to improve its business environment and boost development. In January this year, 12 cities were selected as the first group of model cities implementing the social credit system, including Nanjing.
In the popular tourist city of Xiamen, southeast China’s Fujian Province, a credit tourism management system has been set up to collect credit information about tourist agencies, star-rated hotels, tourist attractions and tour guides since 2017.
More than 74,000 pieces of tour guide information and 6,700 pieces of information about tourism firms have been collected, which tourists can look up online for reference.
In neighboring Zhejiang Province, Yiwu City, known as the “world’s supermarket” for its wholesale goods, built a credit information sharing and publicizing platform last year. Credit information of government departments, financial institutions, enterprises and individuals has been collected for governance purposes.
“China’s social credit system won’t replace our legal system or moral principles. They complement each other,” said Han Jiaping of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.
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