Intl. service center attends to concerns of expats

Expats pose for a photo at the booth of Xin’an Subdistrict during the 21st Conference on International Exchange of Professionals at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center in Futian District in April.

Expats pay a visit organized by the BA Center to a technology firm in Bao’an District.

In just 10 days, Daniel Gauss from the U.S. obtained a business license for his registered company with the help of the Bay Area International Exchange Service Center (BA Center) in Bao’an District.

“Staff at the BA Center are super hardworking, very warm and enthusiastic. I can’t believe I have my own company now in Shenzhen. Thanks to them,” Gauss said after he successfully acquired his business license this March.

In fact, this is one of the many services the center provides to expats.

The BA Center, jointly established by the Bao’an District Foreign Affairs Bureau and Xin’an Subdistrict, which is located in the center of Bao’an, is also the district’s first foreign affairs service center. It was officially inaugurated May 16.

The center is also part of Xin’an Subdistrict’s efforts to build the Bao’an Center International Block. Supported by the BA Center’s outstanding business-oriented services, the block was awarded by the city government the title of International Business Communication Feature Block this February.

Business-oriented

The center’s services cover some 100 items in four categories, including personal affairs, consulting services and exchange activities. In addition, the center also provides business services.

Chen Yiqun (known by many foreign friends as Frank), executive director of the center, told Shenzhen Daily in an interview Tuesday that the center sets itself apart from other international exchange centers in the city by providing business-oriented services, such as business environment briefing, business matching meetings, and trade and sci-tech exchange activities.

Benefiting from the cooperation with chambers of commerce, friendship associations, local enterprises and support from government departments, the center has a wide range of business resources to offer efficient and timely help.

“We were once contacted by expats in AR and VR fields who hoped to visit some local high-tech firms in related fields. We then helped contact companies and successfully organized the visits,” Chen said.

Klaus Zenkel, vice president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, commended the center for its potential in delivering enterprise-related services during the opening ceremony of the center this May.

Zenkel also expressed confidence that the center can provide valuable support to businesses in achieving their goals.

Services lauded

The center adopts a concept featuring fast, precise, high-quality and warm-hearted service, aiming to build a “one-stop” comprehensive service platform for international talents and foreign-invested enterprises in Bao’an District.

“We will do our best when foreigners come to us for help,” Chen said. “We also invite volunteer lawyers who can speak fluent English to offer legal consultation service every Wednesday and Friday at our center.”

This June, the center helped a foreign couple transport their pet dog out of the country to their home in Europe.

“The process is a bit complicated especially when you don’t speak Chinese,” Yassa Mina, the wife, said in a video interview with Shenzhen Daily. “Thanks to the team at the BA center, we managed to get an appointment and know about all the documents that we needed. They also supported us all along the way so we are thankful for that. I had thought it would have been almost impossible because the information I had found online was not very up to date.”

As of the end of this June, the center had handled 203 consulting inquiries, organized nine online trade facilitation meetings and hosted foreign exchange activities that attracted a total of 440 participants.

“All the services we offer are free, so many foreigners who have received our assistance in return would join our international volunteer team to participate in activities we organize,” Chen said.

Diverse activities

This year, the center plans to host over 60 activities, including exchange activities among international talents and entrepreneurs at home and abroad, traditional Chinese festival celebrations, business environment and policy briefings, English salons, Chinese Corners and workshops.

One of the popular activities is a maker workshop, where local teenagers have a chance to attend lectures given by Tully Gehan, a well-known U.S. maker in the city’s circle of makers, to learn about magnetic fields and build an electric magnet and robot under his guidance. Gehan used to work for Seeed Studio and co-founded the Chaihuo Maker Space. He is best known for his Doomsday Clock. So far, the workshop has been held for two years, and this year’s session will be held at the end of this month.

The center has also created a TEA party, which refers to activities featuring three topics — technology, entrepreneurship and arts. A Latin music and culture festival, part of the TEA party, was held at Bao’an 1990 Cultural Center on June 17. (Shenzhen Daily)