In the government work report delivered at the opening meeting of the First Session of the 14th National People’s Congress, Premier Li Keqiang said China will channel more medical resources toward the community level to improve the life quality of residents and improve the governance capacity at the grassroots level.
In Shenzhen, building international blocks has become one way to improve public services and management capabilities at communities in its drive to build an internationalized modern city.
At a plaque-awarding ceremony last week, the Shenzhen Foreign Affairs Office commended the first batch of 20 international blocks, which has been regarded as a platform for expats to integrate with local people and a way to improve their quality of life.
“The building of international blocks has enhanced communications with the expat community, improved the quality of life for expats in Shenzhen and strengthened interactions between the local and expat communities,” said Stewart Hansen, an expat from New Zealand who has lived in the city for seven years.
Hansen was commended as one of the top 10 volunteers for 2022 by the Shenzhen Municipal Committee of the Communist Youth League of China in March last year.
When Hansen came to Shenzhen in 2016, he felt that expats in Shekou were isolated from the local community, and there was insufficient authoritative and timely information available for them.
However, with the establishment of the Shekou Management and Service Center for Expats in 2017, he said expats’ quality of life has been improved, thanks to the Chinese language classes, information seminars, free legal services and free psychological counseling sessions provided to the expat community.
“The various activities like crafts, culture trips, food, music, sports and festive events have enhanced communications among the expat and local communities,” Hansen said. “Over the past couple of years, more international kindergartens and schools have been built or expanded to offer more choices and meet the demand of expats in the community.”
“In terms of medical services, in addition to some international clinics, it is easy for expats to access local hospitals like Shekou People’s Hospital and Nanshan People’s Hospital because they provide English translation service,” the New Zealander said.
During the pandemic period, local expats could make appointment for COVID-19 vaccinations through multilingual apps, according to Hansen. The high-quality schools and medical services attracted foreign talents and businesspeople to settle down and call Shekou home away from their home.
Economic growth is one of the top priorities of the Chinese Government. “In the government report, China has set a goal to achieve an economic growth of around 5% in 2023, attract foreign investment, expand market access and give priority to the recovery and expansion of consumption. These incentives will benefit China, and the world as well,” Hansen said.