American finds pride in SZ logistics firm

Paul Cooper

Email of the writer: JeniZhang13@163.com

For Paul Cooper, working for the international business unit of the Shenzhen-based SF Express, one of China’s largest delivery companies, is both a challenge and an opportunity.

The first time the 26-year-old came to China was in the summer of 2009 when he participated in an exchange program through the Confucius Institute. After returning to the United States, he decided to come back to China to study and majored in international trade and economics at Shanghai International Studies University.

He moved to Shenzhen after receiving a job offer from SF Express. He is greatly impressed by China’s logistics sector, which is witnessing rapid growth fueled by the e-commerce boom.

“SF Express is a leading enterprise in this field and the name alone makes me very proud,” he told Shenzhen Daily, a slight smile flickering across his face. “Everything about parcel delivery and shipping is fast, efficient and well-organized from A to Z,” he added.

His job mainly consists of logistics, quality control and smoothing out any problems that come up during the shipping process. “To me, it’s like solving different kinds of mysteries,” he said.

“Working in Shenzhen is crazy and amazing all at once. I’m surrounded by Chinese and foreigners in my job who all speak an impressive level of Chinese. It’s giving me plenty of pressure to improve my Chinese level and keep up,” said Cooper, who also speaks fluent Chinese.

Working in such a big company also poses challenges for him. “The major challenge is making sure not to fail the company’s core values in any way.”

“The challenges are nothing compared to the excitement of living in the city, working in a huge company, and improving myself while enjoying every minute of it.”