Windy Shao
windysjf@hotmail.com
ON Thursday, representatives from four government entities — the Shekou Management and Service Center for Expats (Shekou-MSCE), the Shenzhen Tax Service (STS), the Shenzhen Culture, Media, Tourism, and Sports Bureau, and the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) Shenzhen Branch — gave speeches at the launch ceremony of a multimedia guide designed to help expats settle into life in Shenzhen.
Tao Dandan from Shekou-MSCE said the center offers legal assistance provided by a team of 27 lawyers, the first in Guangdong Province to do so. It has established an international volunteer team that has logged a cumulative service time of more than 20,000 hours helping expats.
Jing Yisong, from the STS, discussed how the STS employs professionals who speak multiple languages and has simplified tax processes for foreign residents.
The STS is also working to build a multi-language tax inquiry platform to solve personalized problems of foreign taxpayers. It has built the world’s first collaborative management mechanism for taxes and customs and the first international tax agent building in Qianhai, which hosts 54 tax agencies from home and abroad.
The STS also explores innovative measures to introduce foreign businesses to Shenzhen and help domestic companies go global.
Sun Chunguang, from the PBOC Shenzhen Branch, emphasized the bank’s efforts at improving payment services for foreigners entering the Chinese mainland and ensuring a hassle free experience for them. The branch has established financial service points at key locations and increased the availability of foreign currency exchange and ATM services.
By the end of May, there had been nearly 49,000 POS terminals that accept foreign credit and debit cards in Shenzhen. Furthermore, 1,604 bank branches across the city offer foreign currency exchange services and 3,839 ATMs support cash withdrawals in yuan.
Chen Honglin, from the Shenzhen Culture, Media, Tourism, and Sports Bureau, highlighted what the bureau is doing to help expats access cultural and sports facilities in the city.
For example, the bureau has published a bilingual guide and launched a mini-program for tourism promotion, which makes it easier for foreigners to explore and enjoy Shenzhen’s cultural offerings.
In 2021, the bureau built a sports venue reservation platform integrated into the city’s “iShenzhen” government service platform. Registered foreign nationals using the iShenzhen app can easily make venue reservations, pay fees, and use online map navigation. Major city and district sports venues feature dual Chinese and English signage and are open to the public for free or at a low cost. | 