In order to welcome the centennial birthday of the party, the Information Office of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government and the Xinmin Evening News Agency jointly planned and carefully produced the "Centennial Party - Foreigners Telling Stories" 100-episode media series products for half a year.
100 foreigners in Shanghai, telling what they have seen and felt about living and working in China and Shanghai, the 30th issue invited He Mukai from Australia.
"The Centennial Party - Foreigners Telling Stories", No. 30
Produced by Xinmin Evening News "Shanghai Moment"
Name: Cameron Hume
Chinese name: He Mukai
Nationality: Australian
Occupation: Executive Director of Tongjilong Asia Pacific
He Mukai, who has lived in China for more than 20 years, just got a permanent residence card for foreigners in the People's Republic of China some time ago, which made his dream of living in China a reality for a long time. He Mukai believes that the Communist Party of China has done an excellent job of lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, and through more than 40 years of reform and opening up, China has become one of the world's leading countries in many aspects.
Origins: I began to understand China as a child
He Mukai recalled: "When I was in elementary school, a friend of mine happened to be Chinese, and we often played together. His mom didn't speak English very well, so she had to communicate with me Chinese. Since then, He Mukai has begun to understand China and learned Chinese.
In 1990, when He Mukai first came to China, he fell in love with the country. "I still remember going home and telling my parents that I hoped to one day work and live in China. Since then, I have begun to have an indissoluble relationship with China. He Mukai told reporters that in 1996 he went to Nanjing to study, and after receiving a scholarship, he went to Beijing to study economics. In 2003 he settled in Shanghai.
According to Ho Mukai, from 2013 to 2014, Tongjilong's business only served inbound customers, but by then it had already seen China's rapidly growing outbound tourism market. Since some travelers could not exchange the currency of their destination in China, Tongjilong began to cooperate with the State Administration of Foreign Exchange and the Shanghai Administration of Foreign Exchange. "Our business relies heavily on the two-way flow of cross-border travel. China's outbound tourism market is the largest in the world. The more countries that relax visa restrictions on China, the better it will be for our business. He Mukai said.
As one of the first three non-banking institutions to obtain the license for cross-border transfer and wholesale business of foreign currency cash from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Tongjilong's development in China is inseparable from China's economic development, opening up and reform and innovation. In 2019, Tongjilong officially announced the establishment of a new Asia-Pacific headquarters in Shanghai, with Shanghai as the center to radiate all businesses in Hong Kong SAR, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan and other Asia-Pacific countries and regions.
Choice: Shanghai has the right time, location, people and people
He Mukai explained the reason for choosing Shanghai with "time, location, and people". "Tianshi" refers to China's ongoing reform and opening up, the "Belt and Road" initiative and the continuous liberalization of RMB free convertibility; "geographical advantage" is because Shanghai is the center of the Asia-Pacific region, and the infrastructure, financial services, and airports that have been built provide great convenience for import and export currencies; "people" have two levels, one is the efficiency of Shanghai's service-oriented government and a good business environment, and the other is Shanghai's international talent resources.
Beginning in 2020, the foreign exchange business of Tongjilong fell by 90% due to the huge impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on international travel. He Mukai told reporters that with the help of governments at all levels and airports, Tongjilong has eased financial pressure. "The government has provided us with rent relief schemes, which also gives us the ability to retain as many jobs as possible until the business finally recovers." Ho sees the outbreak as a short-term impact, with international travel soon beginning to recover as vaccinations begin to be given domestically and, more recently, in other parts of Asia.
He Mukai is full of confidence in the Chinese market, saying that it is not only because of the size of China's own market, but also because of China's ability to continuously carry out reform and opening up. He Mukai believes that all this is inseparable from the correct decision-making and leadership of the Communist Party of China, and because of this, China can continue to maintain its growth momentum in the future.
"The Centennial Party - Foreigners Tell Stories"
Baijirong media series products are now online
One short video + one story per day
Lasts 100 days
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Written by Hu Yanxun
Video: Congratulatory letter
Photography: Li Mingyan, Gu Qingwen (Intern)
Poster: Dong Chunjie Chen Li