Over the past year, Spanish businessman Juan Gibert has been teeming with excitement seeing Shenzhen’s achievements going beyond his expectations he had when attending a symposium in Shekou last year. When he attended that event, he expressed his confidence in the city’s future.

Shenzhen hosted a grand gathering to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone on Oct. 14 in 2020.

President Xi Jinping attended the gathering held in Qianhai and delivered an important speech, calling on Shenzhen to build itself into a pilot demonstration area for socialism with Chinese characteristics, set an example of a modern socialist country for other cities, build a new pattern to deepen all-round reform and expand opening up on all fronts, and contribute to the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

The symposium Gibert attended was organized for local expats to share their Shenzhen stories and express their views of the city’s future.

What impressed Gibert most for the past year was getting his Shenzhen company registered in one week.

“A year ago, I was told that setting up a business here would take around one month. Now, it only takes one week due to the convenient measures the government offers to foreign investors,” he said.

In 2019, Gibert moved from Hong Kong to Shenzhen and founded a consulting company after.

Gibert, who was the former director of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, has been engaged in consulting for 12 years. He said Shenzhen’s improved business environment for foreign-invested companies and other supporting services are attractive to overseas companies and business professionals.

Another symposium attendee, Aleksandra Kozlowska from Poland, thinks “Shenzhen is an amazing city with a lot of miracles.”

Her recognition for Shenzhen has never changed since she moved to the city in 2015. “Shenzhen is never getting old. It is a vibrant megacity and shaped by young people who contribute to its very creative atmosphere,” she said.

“Shenzhen is called the Silicon Valley of China. It is an innovation-driven city making high-end products and has implemented various measures to attract talents,” she said.

As an IT company's HR manager, Kozlowska is occupied with hiring highly skilled, open-minded and top-class software engineers from across the world every day.