'CPC, a Party for the benefit of the people’

On the first workday yesterday after the opening of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), expat employees of Shenzhen-based high-tech giant Amer International Group gathered at their office in Futian District to watch the replay of the congress opening and study the report delivered by Xi Jinping at the session.

Employees of the International Department of Amer International Group gather at their Futian District office to watch the replay of the opening session of the 20th CPC National Congress yesterday. Photos courtesy of Amer except otherwise stated

“The 20th CPC National Congress is a major event in China. In the report, Xi stressed promoting high-standard opening up. I think the policy will benefit the world and my employer Amer as well,” Danijela Jevtic Nedeljkovic, a Serbian who came to China in 2015 and is now working as a project manager, said at an interview yesterday.

After learning Chinese for three semesters at Shenzhen Polytechnic, she joined Amer in 2018, which ranks 86th among Global 500 firms.

“I am pretty sure and believe that China and the Chinese people can accomplish everything they set their mind to,” she said, who now calls China her second home.

She is impressed by changes that have happened in the country over the past five years.

Danijela Jevtic Nedeljkovic from Serbia. 

“What I actually like about China is how advanced and developed it is. No need to talk about WeChat pay and online shopping, it’s already a standard that we are used to, and I am a little bit afraid how I will adapt when I go back to visit my family in Serbia,” she said.

“The CPC is all about the people. It works for the benefit of the people. Even during this difficult time with COVID-19, and all the happenings around the world, China is only going forward and it’s all because of its leadership,” she said.

Danijela felt that everything in Shenzhen is well organized.

“I think that was the best decision we could’ve made and I felt really secure here, much more than I could’ve been in Europe,” she said.

Demenkova Irina from Russia joined Amer in 2019 and worked as a project specialist after graduating from Heilongjiang University and winning the Chinese Government Scholarship in 2013.

Demenkova Irina from Russia.

Before joining Amer, she knew little about politics and the CPC. After working in Amer for several years, she began to realize how the CPC is important to China. In Amer’s corporate culture, employees are required to read books, learn policies from the government and the Party, which are regarded as the core driving force for the company’s high-quality development, according to her.

“Shenzhen has become one of the country’s most developed cities, and this is undoubtedly the merit of the CPC,” Irina said.

Irina follows big political events like the 20th CPC National Congress.

“The CPC National Congress allows us to look back and take stock of the past five years and also to build far-reaching plans in order to make China a country that represents the future,” she said.

In her mind, the CPC is like a teacher and mentor who will always be by one’s side. Even in difficult times, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the Party took care of everyone and created a spectacular system to combat the disease and its consequences, according to Irina.

Professor Peter Lobie from Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute was very excited after watching the opening session.

Professor Peter Lobie from Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute. File photo

The Australian had consecutively held faculty positions in Sweden, Singapore and New Zealand before he made the decision to work in Shenzhen six years ago. As a world-renowned cancer pharmacologist, he told Shenzhen Daily that whatever global uncertainties may have impact on China, he is optimistic that the path the Chinese Government has set will be maintained.

Fernando Munoz Bernal from Colombia, a content creator in Dongguan City, hailed Xi’s report at the opening session on his Twitter account.

“Rejuvenation is the key word [of the report]. Minorities represented,” he wrote on the account.