Deadline for change: How APEC is accelerating Shenzhen\u2019s makeover -\nand what could last<\/p>\n
Shenzhen is accelerating improvements to visitor services and urban\nsafety as it prepares to host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation\nsummit in November. But which changes will endure after world leaders\nleave?<\/p>\n
SHENZHEN: When Briton Sophie Spencer-Beeley moved to Shenzhen from\nEngland\u2019s West Midlands five years ago for work, even something as\nsimple as choosing a restaurant could be difficult.<\/p>\n
The problem was not a lack of options, but finding reliable\ninformation in English.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not easy to find information about the city,\u201d the 28-year-old\nmarketing specialist told CNA. \u201cMost information is on Chinese sites in\nChinese, and a lot of the information on Western sites is quite\noutdated.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, as Shenzhen prepares to welcome world leaders for the\nAsia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders\u2019 Meeting on\nNov 18 and 19, authorities are tackling some of the same obstacles\nforeigners like her have faced.<\/p>\n
From correcting foreign-language signs and expanding translation and\npayment services to tightening e-scooter management and stepping up\nunderground safety inspections, the southern Chinese city is undergoing\na wide-ranging makeover ahead of the high-profile gathering.<\/p>\n
Many of these efforts were already underway, but APEC has injected\nfresh urgency into the work.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce the date of the leaders\u2019 meeting is set, the various tasks have\na completion deadline that cannot be postponed,\u201d Zhang Jingjia,\nassociate researcher at Nankai University\u2019s APEC Study Centre, told\nCNA.<\/p>\n
Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to host the gathering of\nleaders from 21 APEC economies, with United States President Donald\nTrump also indicating plans to attend.<\/p>\n
But whether the improvements endure beyond the summit is less\ncertain.<\/p>\n
Experts said the longer-term test would be whether they become part\nof Shenzhen\u2019s regular systems - and whether the city attracts more\nforeign talent and business after the leaders leave.<\/p>\n
SIGNS OF CHANGE<\/p>\n
For Bao Yihui, 34, Shenzhen is already a highly convenient place to\nlive.<\/p>\n
The education consultant said most of her daily needs can be met\nwithin about 1km of her home in Nanshan, a southwestern district home to\nsome of China\u2019s biggest technology companies.<\/p>\n
But after some of her students joined the Woodpecker Initiative, she\nbegan to wonder whether newcomers found the city as easy to\nnavigate.<\/p>\n
Launched ahead of APEC, the programme enlists volunteers to identify\ninaccurate or unclear foreign-language signs and flag them for\ncorrection.<\/p>\n
\u201cA road sign that we take for granted - would a foreign visitor\nunderstand it when they arrive for the first time \u2026 could it send them\nthe wrong way?\u201d Bao told CNA.<\/p>\n
By August, Shenzhen authorities said more than 40,000 instances of\nnon-standard foreign-language signage had been corrected since the\ncampaign began late last year.<\/p>\n
The improvements come as Shenzhen receives growing numbers of foreign\nvisitors. The city recorded about 2.09 million overnight visits by\nforeign travellers in 2025, up 70.1 per cent year-on-year, according to\nofficial data.<\/p>\n
Efforts to bridge the language gap have extended beyond signs.<\/p>\n
More than 5,000 taxis operated by state-owned Shenzhen Bus Group now\ncarry artificial intelligence translation devices supporting 146\nlanguages, with similar assistance available at selected transport\nhubs.<\/p>\n
Making payments easier is another area of focus.<\/p>\n
Daily transactions in China rely heavily on Alipay and WeChat Pay,\nwhich may be unfamiliar to short-term travellers.<\/p>\n
Foreign bank cards can be linked to WeChat Pay, although transactions\nabove 200 yuan (US$30) may incur a 3 per cent fee.<\/p>\n
Tencent, which owns WeChat and is headquartered in Shenzhen, has\nintroduced a 90-day transaction fee waiver for first-time WeChat Pay\nusers who link international bank cards, covering eligible spending of\nup to 1,000 yuan a day.<\/p>\n
The measure was announced in May as part of a broader push to make\npayments easier for overseas visitors, timed to coincide with China\u2019s\nhosting of APEC.<\/p>\n
Visitors can also use selected overseas digital wallets without\nsetting up WeChat Pay.<\/p>\n
ShopeePay users from Singapore and Thailand, for example, can scan\nparticipating Weixin Pay merchant codes directly. Weixin Pay is the\nmainland Chinese version of WeChat Pay.<\/p>\n
Tencent told CNA that APEC was \u201can important opportunity to further\nimprove payment convenience for international visitors\u201d.<\/p>\n
Another long-planned upgrade has come online just weeks before the\nsummit.<\/p>\n
The new Huanggang Port, a 24-hour border crossing between Shenzhen\nand Hong Kong, opened on Oct 12.<\/p>\n
Eligible Hong Kong residents and mainland visitors using the joint\nautomated lanes queue and present their documents just once to complete\nimmigration checks on both sides.<\/p>\n
Foreign tourists travelling on ordinary passports use staffed\ncounters instead. They also queue once, but present their documents\nseparately to each side.<\/p>\n
Authorities expect the new arrangements to cut overall clearance time\nfrom about 30 minutes to five.<\/p>\n
While the redevelopment was years in the making, its opening marks a\nlasting upgrade to cross-border travel as Shenzhen seeks to strengthen\nits position as an international hub.<\/p>\n
DIGGING DEEPER<\/p>\n
Shenzhen\u2019s APEC preparations go beyond making the city easier for\nforeign visitors to navigate.<\/p>\n
In many areas, marked bays and new signs now direct where e-scooters\nshould be parked, following tighter enforcement ahead of the summit.<\/p>\n
Other work is taking place beneath the surface.<\/p>\n
In August, part of Binhai Avenue, a major route linking Nanshan with\nFutian, the city\u2019s administrative and financial centre, collapsed.<\/p>\n
It was the second such incident along the road in less than two\nyears. No casualties were reported in either case.<\/p>\n
While the incidents occurred separately, they have highlighted the\nimportance of detecting underground hazards as Shenzhen steps up safety\ninspections ahead of APEC.<\/p>\n
The city\u2019s 2026 ground-collapse prevention plan requires at least\n9,769km of traffic lanes and pavements to undergo ground-penetrating\nradar inspections before November, about 52 per cent higher than last\nyear\u2019s minimum target.<\/p>\n
It also calls for intensified checks ahead of APEC, with inspection\nvolumes in key summit districts potentially doubling.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese inspections are carried out routinely, but they will be\nintensified during the APEC period,\u201d said Lyu Li, executive director at\nDECOD Technology, a company specialising in ground-penetrating\nradar.<\/p>\n
Its radar-equipped vehicles scan for underground gaps and other\nhazards without digging up roads. The company conducts inspections in\nGuangming district, away from the main summit venue in Futian, and was\nnot involved in investigating the Binhai Avenue collapse.<\/p>\n
Lyu said selected roads may be inspected more frequently during APEC\nto ensure travel safety.<\/p>\n
The inspections will continue after the summit, she added, although\nroutine work will cover roads more broadly rather than concentrating on\nselected stretches.<\/p>\n
BUILT TO LAST?<\/p>\n
Not all of Shenzhen\u2019s APEC-driven changes are likely to endure.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether a change can be sustained depends on whether it meets the\ncity\u2019s long-term development needs and can be turned into a regular\ninstitutional arrangement,\u201d said Zhang from Nankai University.<\/p>\n
Improvements to payment services and transport links are more likely\nto last because they benefit residents, visitors and businesses beyond\nAPEC, she noted.<\/p>\n
Security controls, traffic restrictions and intensive clean-ups,\nhowever, are likely to recede after the summit, given the resources\nneeded to sustain them.<\/p>\n
But making Shenzhen more internationally accessible goes beyond\nbetter services, analysts said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt a deeper level, Shenzhen\u2019s next step is to move gradually from\nimproving infrastructure and service details towards regulatory\nalignment and institutional opening-up,\u201d Zhang said.<\/p>\n
That would include closer alignment with Hong Kong and international\nrules, she added.<\/p>\n
Zhai Kun, a professor at Peking University\u2019s School of International\nStudies, said better payment, transport and language services could help\noverseas businesses enter Shenzhen\u2019s industrial and innovation\nnetworks.<\/p>\n
Longer-term indicators would include growth in foreign talent,\ninternational air links, service trade and technology exports, he told\nCNA.<\/p>\n
Another measure would be whether more multinational companies choose\nto locate research, financing and supply-chain operations in\nShenzhen.<\/p>\n
\u201cUltimately, these indicators will be reflected in market choices,\u201d\nZhai said.<\/p>\n
Beyond business decisions, Shenzhen\u2019s international appeal will also\ndepend on the experiences of foreigners who live and work in the\ncity.<\/p>\n
For Spencer-Beeley, private Mandarin lessons have helped her overcome\nthe language barriers she initially faced. She no longer needs\ntranslation assistance.<\/p>\n
While she believes expanded translation services will help newcomers,\nlearning the local language has brought her more than convenience.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really helped me experience so much more and have a richer time\nhere than if I didn\u2019t learn any Mandarin,\u201d she said.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/deadline-for-change-how-apec-is-accelerating-shenzhens-makeover-and-what-could-last-1792536616", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }