The State Council Information Office holds a press conference on Aug. 19 in Beijing to brief the media on the work by the National Immigration Administration to promote high-quality development. [Photo/china.com.cn]

China's immigration hotline has handled over 12.7 million calls from 147 countries and regions in the past three years, addressing the urgent needs of Chinese and foreign citizens regarding entry and exit matters, an official said on Aug. 19. 

Liu Jia, deputy director general of the Department of Foreigners Management of the National Immigration Administration (NIA), made the remarks during a press conference held by the State Council Information Office, as part of the series "Promoting High-Quality Development."

The China Immigration Service Hotline, launched in April 2021 and known as 12367, is "capable of answering" all inquiries and "handling problems" efficiently. It is the first government hotline in China to offer direct, bilingual (Chinese and English) human services to international callers.

Liu said 12367 handles problems in a timely and effective manner. In addition to the hotline, the NIA's official website, "China Immigration 12367" mobile app, and WeChat and Alipay mini-programs have also launched "12367 online services" functions. All these platforms provide 24/7 bilingual and intelligent real-time response services in Chinese and English, achieving what Liu described as a "service that is always online, dutiful and continuous."

The NIA has also launched a government website available in six official U.N. languages: Chinese, English, Russian, French, Spanish and Arabic. The site offers guidance on immigration management, facilitating inquiries, relevant matters, and information about China's immigration laws and services. Since its launch, the site has received over 1.58 billion visits.

Liu added that the NIA will continue to optimize the 12367 service platform and multilingual website, expand service channels and functions, and strive to provide more efficient and convenient services to facilitate international exchanges.