Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei promote the universal use of one social security card

On October 7th, our reporter Pan Junqiang filed a story from Beijing, highlighting the recent approval of a new regulation by the Standing Committees of the People’s Congresses of Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei. This regulation, effective immediately, aims to enhance the integration of social security cards throughout the region. It is expected to improve collaboration on policies, standards, and services across the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area while addressing existing gaps in public welfare.

Wang Rongmei, Director of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the Beijing Municipal People’s Congress, shared that as of August this year, the region boasts approximately 116 million social security cardholders, with nearly 92.93 million people already using electronic versions of these cards—covering around 84.92% of the local population.

The new regulation outlines a collaborative effort among the three regions to develop and continuously update a list of applications for the integrated card system, which will be made publicly accessible. It highlights the card’s use in high-frequency scenarios, including human resources and social security services, medical facilities, public transportation, tourist sites, museums, and libraries. Furthermore, the regulation promotes innovation through the integration of public services and social applications via the unified card system.

Wang Qingwang, Director of the Beijing Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, emphasized, “Our focus will be on meeting public needs and expanding the card’s usage scenarios. We aspire to establish a ‘one card for all’ approach in more aspects of everyday life. By enhancing the connectivity of social security card platforms across the three regions and standardizing data protocols and interface norms, we aim to elevate these cards from being merely ‘accessible’ to truly ‘user-friendly’.”