Shinan helps foreign-invested enterprises resume work

As the political, economic, and cultural center of Qingdao city, Shinan district is home to a large number of foreign-invested enterprises and institutions.

"Though the outbreak of the novel coronavirus has had a huge impact on my company, I have firm confidence in doing business in Qingdao and I believe my company can pull through with the help of the Chinese government," said an Indian who started a business in Shinan district five years ago.

During the Spring Festival holiday, officials of the district's bureau of commerce contacted local foreign-invested enterprises to share information related to epidemic prevention, get an idea of the number of foreign employees in Qingdao, and come up with a general timeframe for the resumption of operations.

To help local foreign-invested enterprises resume operations, the district has issued guides in English, Japanese, and Korean. The local government is also helping enterprises purchase protective materials such as face masks and thermometers.

According to the manager of MINISTOP, a convenience store chain, its branches in Qingdao have already resumed operations.

According to a manager at Youchuang Data Technology Co, the largest wholly foreign-owned service trading enterprise in Qingdao, a new policy on housing rent has helped the company reduce its expenses by over 3 million yuan ($426,830).

The district government has also arranged for several speakers of foreign languages to serve on the frontlines in the fight against the virus to help communicate with and provide services to foreign-invested enterprises. To date, over 90 percent of foreign-invested enterprises in Qingdao have resumed operations.