Editor’s Note:

Shekou Subdistrict, which accommodates Shenzhen’s largest expat resident population, is home to over 8,000 expats from over 100 countries, mainly from South Korea, Japan, the U.S., France and Canada. Due to differences in customs, habits and languages, expats, especially those new in Shekou, encounter issues living and working in the city.

On June 28, 2017, Shekou Management and Service Center for Expats (Shekou MSCE) was established. It served as a platform to integrate expats into the life of local community.

Shenzhen Daily has a special report today to mark the 5th anniversary of Shekou MSCE and introduce the practice of Shekou Subdistrict Office in building the international block.

Han Ximin

1824295095@qq.com

AFTER delays due to COVID-19 flare-ups since March, Alka Gupta from India, who has been living in Shekou with her family for 18 years, underwent surgery this April. In a recent WeChat conversation with Yang Yan, director of Shekou MSCE, Gupta expressed her gratitude for the center’s help creating an expat-friendly community in Shekou and introducing her to doctors to make life easier.

During a voluntary medical consultation organized by Shekou Subdistrict Office in November last year, Gupta got to know gynecologists who can speak English well — Dr. Wang and Dr. Xu from Shekou Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital. They helped her with hospital formalities and provided her with a full body checkup.

“I usually have my checkup when I return to India. Due to COVID-19, the trip back is impossible. The medical environment for expats in Shekou had been greatly improved because doctors at local hospitals became more professional in their skills and in English,” Gupta said.

At an interview on the eve of Shekou MSCE’s fifth anniversary, Zhou Xinsen, director of Public Service Office of Shekou Subdistrict Office, said the establishment of Shekou MSCE served as a platform for expats to integrate into the local culture and environment. Building a foreign-related service platform and internationally recognized blocks integrating expats into the local community has been on the government’s agenda in terms of building an international metropolis.

“An international block is not necessarily a gathering place of skyscrapers and upmarket office buildings. Rather, it should be a community that offers livable environments for expats integrating into local life. The environment should be safe, has convenient public transport and easily accessible education and healthcare,” said Zhou.

In the beginning, Shekou MSCE mainly provided expats’ temporary residence registration forms, but now the services have been expanded based on expats’ needs such as visas, work permits, driver’s licenses, pet registration and cross-cultural activities. “The center has two service platforms now, one for comprehensive foreigner-related services and the other for legal services,” Zhou said.

The platforms are made up of three teams — a 12-member international social workers’ team, a 289-member local and expat volunteers’ team, and a 26-member legal service team.

Shekou is the birthplace of China’s reform and opening up. During the construction of the international block, the subdistrict has set its sights on building a “soft environment” mixing the unique local culture with the expat neighborhood by organizing cultural activities, improving its bilingual environment and developing training courses for employees dealing with foreigners.

In July 2019, Shenzhen Municipal CPC Foreign Affairs Work Committee held a meeting at Shekou Subdistrict Office to introduce its practices citywide. Then in 2020, Shekou Subdistrict Office unveiled its three-year action plan (2020-2022) for the construction of international blocks and listed 20 tasks in six aspects.

In April 2021, the subdistrict took the country’s lead and unveiled the guidance on the standards of construction of international blocks. It is consisted of 57 indexes based on seven core features of an international community like openness, governance, integration, unique culture, vitality and innovation, and leading industries. It explored the ways for international block construction in the city and other cities in China.

From a single service providing expats with temporary residence registration to a center that integrates and promotes exchanges between local and expat communities, expats have called Shekou MSCE a home away from home.

“The international blocks in the Greater Bay Area will be more open, convenient and colorful,” Zhou said, suggesting that the government should work out more policies in housing, entrepreneurship, medical treatment and education to attract international talents. It should set up more platforms for international exchanges, encourage agencies and support social organizations to develop a series of cultural, sports and arts activities of international significance.