Guangzhou foreign business leaders advise European counterparts to invest China

"I should have come earlier because I think Guangzhou has given me a boost in my career. Currently, I don't have a plan to leave." Peter Helis, Chief Advisor of Guangzhou Huangpu District told GDToday reporter. He comments that the market size of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) is huge, and hopes to help business partners in Europe seize opportunities for investment and development in China.

Peter Helis. (Photo provided to Newsgd.com)

"Family, romantic, open, business opportunities..." these are frequently mentioned by the speakers who shared their stories at the "My GBA Stories with the World" salon held on July 26. The storytelling event was jointly held by Guangzhou Information Office and International Communication Center, Nanfang Media Group.

Deng Changxiong, Deputy Director General of Foreign Affairs of Guangzhou Municipal People's Government, introduced that Guangzhou ranked among the world's first-tier cities, according to the Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network, or GaWC.

(Photo provided to Newsgd.com)

"It's a big family for me, so I'm really happy to be here," said Dr. Phei Er Saw, the Malaysian professor in Medical Research Center of Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital. Having stayed in Guangzhou since 2018, Saw recalled that in no more than two years, the COVID-19 pandemic started. During a wave of COVID-19 outbreak in the summer of 2021, she received a call from Malaysia saying that her grandmother tested positive for COVID-19, and soon passed away. 

Right at that time, the hospital was organizing volunteers to help conduct mass nucleic acid testing. Although sorrow was still there, she wanted to do something for her grandma right at the place where she was. After training and passing the exams, Saw became one of the volunteers. 

Once her team went to Dongguan, and about 45,000 people had to be tested on that day. Saw had to work from morning to deep into night. She recalled, "At that time, I felt that Guangzhou is not a self-centered city, but that we can stand together and help those in need."

Dr. Phei Er Saw. (Photo provided to Newsgd.com)

Pandemic has not stopped the trade and investment activities between Guangzhou and the rest of the world.

In recent years, Guangzhou has held Guangdong 21st Century Maritime Silk Road International Expo Theme Forum for seven consecutive years, and established Guangdong's first anti-epidemic material export alliance.

Wang Fuchun, Vice President of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Guangzhou Committee, said that Guangzhou has kept overcoming the difficulties in the international economic and trade cooperation, which has strengthened the confidence of more and more foreign investors in developing business in the Greater Bay Area.

"For the last 30 years I have witnessed Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and the Greater Bay Area develop from sleepy towns to a major conglomerate of open and international cities," said Dr. Harley Seyedin, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in South China. He attributed it to the commitment of those cities to education, improving the environment and creating an environment that businesses can work in and make profit.

Taking Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center as an example, he further explained "they educate thousands of students who will contribute to the growth of companies, and create the future generation that we need to continue our growth."

"71% of our members will re-invest to expand their existing cooperation. The GBA represents the future of the opportunity," Seyedin said, adding that it's expected that by 2030, GBA will transform into a high-end manufacturer in the world.

Dr. Harley Seyedin. (Photo provided to Newsgd.com)

Alexander Lloyd is a Colombia-born American photographer running a WeChat channel called "发现广东 Discover GD". 16 years ago, inspired by some Chinese PhD students, he decided to come to Guangdong and became a college teacher in South China University of Technology, teaching video production and photography. After 15 years of teaching, he quit the job and started to run his channel, aiming to show real life in Guangdong during the COVID-19 epidemic to the world. 

For Lloyd, staying in the "flower city", is so romantic. He is a big fan of Cantonese Opera and watched more than 200 shows. His favorite Cantonese Opera star is Ou Kaiming, and he is deeply attracted by the makeup, martial arts, and the culture of Cantonese Opera. 

He said, "Cantonese Opera for me is one of the values of Chinese culture. I have a special point of view, that a tree develops bigger by taking care of its roots. We have been talking about the flowers, the branches, you know, like business, economy, but I want that we don't forget our culture roots."

Alexander Lloyd. (Photo provided to Newsgd.com)

Author | Hannah, Nina, Clarice

Editor | Wing, Keane, Jerry

With help from Lanting (intern).