With Jinbao, the panda mascot of the China International Import Expo, posting the first tweet on Facebook and Twitter via the account "Shanghai Let's Meet", Shanghai's official overseas social media accounts were launched on the sidelines of the ongoing fifth CIIE on Tuesday.

The two accounts mainly share official information about Shanghai with an overseas audience. On the same day, an English information portal about Shanghai, City News Service, was also unveiled as Shanghai's digital platform IP Shanghai celebrates its first anniversary.

According to Zhao Jiaming, head of the publicity department of Shanghai, all the three platforms aim to further strengthen the city's soft power.

"We hope with the three platforms, foreign friends in Shanghai can learn more about the city and fall in love with Shanghai," said Zhao during the ceremony.

As Zhao noted, "it is in accordance with the report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China on behalf of the 19th CPC Central Committee — accelerating the development of China's discourse and narrative systems, better telling China's stories, making China's voice heard, and presenting a China that is credible, appealing and respectable."

City News Service is an official news and service platform that looks to offer "news at your service" to inbound foreign travelers. It can be accessed via www.citynewsservice.cn and WeChat account City News Service.

The platform provides up-to-date coverage of Shanghai, ranging from COVID-19, breaking news, to business and culture. Expats can also access service news, policy interpretations and daily events calendar via City News Service.

One year ago, IP Shanghai, an online platform for sharing resources related to the city, was launched. The platform allows people from around the world to share videos, pictures and articles related to the city.

Within a year, more than 560,000 posts have been shared and contributions have been made by more than 20,000 registered professionals.

Being a cosmopolitan home to 877 multinational corporations' regional headquarters and 523 foreign-funded R&D centers, Shanghai has attracted lots of foreigners to work and live here.

"Shanghai is a city born out of openness, and openness is also a key criterion for the international world to observe China," Zhao said. "With the operation of the three platforms, people in Shanghai, including foreign friends working and living in the city, would be able to obtain information and reports about Shanghai more conveniently."