In recent years, Fengtai District has been actively expanding its international outreach and engagement, leveraging Beijing's strategic positioning as the nation's capital to broaden overseas communication channels, refine its international narrative, and enhance its regional brand identity — all in support of Beijing's broader efforts to build a world-class center for international exchanges.

A delegation of media professionals from 19 Asian neighboring countries, including Pakistan, the Maldives, and India, recently visited Fengtai District's Yuquanying Subdistrict for an on-site exchange at the Caoqiao Village Committee and the Beijing Flower Trading Center.

Following a firsthand experience of Fengtai's development progress, Rajib Roy, a journalist from Bangladesh, penned a feature for the Daily Sun under the headline "Governance in China: How Do Grassroots Governments Function?" In the piece, he shared his on-the-ground perspective on the district's locally adapted approaches to grassroots innovation.

In his report, Rajib Roy wrote: "Visiting the Caoqiao Village Committee in Yuquanying Subdistrict and the Green Garden Group in Fengtai District gave me a glimpse into another facet of China's grassroots governance — namely, the institutional flexibility built into the system and the proactive efforts to tailor governance approaches to local conditions. This development model has yielded remarkable results, transforming a traditional village into a modern urban area and fundamentally reshaping the lives of its residents."

Building on 800 years of flower-growing culture, Caoqiao Village revived the Green Garden Group in 2001 to transform its floral industry into a consolidated, scaled-up, tech-forward, and modern enterprise — a move that marked a new era of growth and prosperity for the community.

Life in the village has kept getting better ever since. A photo archive at the village history museum tells the story — humble cottages giving way to livable high-rises, rutted lanes replaced by smooth city roads. Caoqiao now runs a diverse mix of businesses, from flowers and property to real estate, pursuing a development model where better surroundings and stronger growth go hand in hand.

"Our tour offered us three windows onto China's grassroots governance," the article states: "resident-facing service centers, distinctive community governance practices, and a full-coverage digital governance network. No system is flawless, and China's is no exception — it is evolving with the pace of urbanization. Tech-enabled solutions, collaborative coordination, and shared community participation are now emerging as key drivers of better governance outcomes."

The recent media tour and the international coverage it generated are a telling microcosm of Fengtai's broader push to amplify its global voice. The district has long pursued a two-track approach — reaching out to the world while inviting the world in. Through flagship initiatives like "Foreign Journalists in Fengtai," it regularly brings global media and international guests to the front lines, utilizing authentic settings and real-life cases to share the stories of Fengtai, Beijing, and China's grassroots progress — projecting an image of openness, effective governance, and growing vitality to the global community.

With a steady lineup of regular, branded, and professional international engagement initiatives, Fengtai has reinforced its position as a grassroots anchor for Beijing's global exchanges, enriched the local dimension of the capital's international center-building efforts, and built lasting bridges for cross-border dialogue and mutual learning. In this way, the district continues to channel its unique strengths into Beijing's wider drive for deeper international cooperation, greater openness, and higher global competitiveness.