With the 5th China International Import Expo in full swing, Shanghai has released a series of new initiatives for the foreign community, hoping better services and more interaction will increase its attraction as a metropolis friendly to both newcomers and old friends of the city.

Shanghai government spokesperson Yin Xin said the new initiatives are crucial for China to have its own voice and for Shanghai to tell its own stories.

City News Service at your service

As part of the initiatives, a news and service platform, City News Service, went online on Tuesday, with "news at your service" as its vision.

The platform, launched by the Shanghai Information Office and Shanghai Daily, allows expatriates to gain the latest information about the city, including local news, official policies and lifestyle guide.

It aims to meet the needs of both new residents and those who have been in the city longer term by providing information, including official services and how to use them.

Dozens of news stories have been posted on the site since its soft launch at the end of last month. It was first offered in the form of a newsletter targeting foreign executives with the aim of strengthening the city's innovative ability for international communication and better spread the city's stories around the globe.

Foreign residents have high hopes for the service, believing it will bring convenience to their everyday life.

Shanghai-based equity management officer Benjamin said the CNS logo is minimalist and clean-cut, which is also very "Shanghai."

Another analyst Alex says he hoped the service section can be further expanded to host more content.

The platform will launch a mini program and expand its services to the Yangtze River Delta region next year to facilitate more expatriates in China.

In order to allow users to navigate the platform more easily, it has set up three entrances for residents, employee/employer and visitors, respectively, to help them find information more easily.

The WeChat account features seven regular columns from Monday to Sunday: The Headline, Kaleidoscope, Their Stories, What's On, Good Deals, Impression and Alex Says.

Twitter-edition of Shanghai Fabu, the official WeChat account of the city, is to introduce Shanghai to the world in a better and faster way.

Shanghai Fabu tweets Twitter

Another initiative is to launch the Twitter-edition of Shanghai Fabu, the official WeChat account of the city, to introduce Shanghai to the world better and faster. It was also officially unveiled on Tuesday to enhance the city's international communication capabilities.

A better global image via IP SHANGHAI

On a related note, the IP SHANGHAI Best Practice Exhibition is being held at the Press Center of the 5th CIIE which showcases the city's phenomenal socio-economic achievements over the past decade, and its exciting prospects.

The exhibition falls under five key words: innovation, ecology, culture, happiness, and opening-up.

Exhibition participants – multinationals, state-owned enterprises and private businesses – offer their own interpretation of "People's City," by highlighting Shanghai's major achievements over the past decade in economy, culture, and residents' daily life.

Therefore, the city they help delineate is at once intimate, warm and endearing.

L'Oréal, Boehringer Ingelheim and Beiersdorf Group were among a total of 50 companies lauded for their best practices and their exemplary roles in projecting the city's global image.

They have all spoken highly of Shanghai's outstanding openness, vibrancy and innovative spirit, which also fit well with their business operations and positioning in the city.

Fabrice Megarbane, president of L'Oréal North Asia Zone and chief executive officer of L'Oréal China, said that Shanghai has been a symbol of openness in all aspects.

It's also essential for companies to contribute to the overall openness, and L'Oréal continues to make new investments and attract talents to stay and work in the city, he pointed out.

"Shanghai represents a very unique set of values with its openness and innovation and with less travel these days, it's even more important to communicate these values."

It's essential to drive quality innovation to reflect people's aspirations for a better life and to promote good consumption.

The French cosmetic giant plans to continue to work with the city to have a more sustainable and stronger impact on people's daily life.

"Shanghai is a very vibrant city and an important window of China to the world and we'll continue to drive innovation to inspire the rest of the world," Megarbane said. "We always believe that investing in Shanghai means investing for the future and we wish to continue to advocate for such a vibrant city."

Boehringer Ingelheim is a case in point that demonstrates Shanghai's strength in an innovation-driven economy and the protection of intellectual property rights.

The research-strong German pharmaceutical company has kept increasing investment in the city based on solid confidence in an innovative Shanghai accumulated over the past 28 years since its entry into the Chinese market.

It has completed the first phase of its manufacturing upgrade project in the Zhangjiang high-tech area in Pudong that is equipped with new digital technology upgrades and efficiency enhancement solutions to facilitate its research and development.

May Yin, vice president of corporate affairs at Boehringer Ingelheim China, said that Shanghai provides a fertile land for businesses to pursue further advancement in innovation.

"Innovation is an integral part of Shanghai's high-quality growth and a feature of the city that attracts multinational companies like Boehringer Ingelheim," Yin noted.

Beiersdorf Group, a German skincare enterprise, has been sending its products into the Chinese market via the Shanghai port since as early as 1930. It later set up a joint venture in Shanghai with a local firm in 1994, which then became a wholly-owned affiliate of Beiersdorf in 1999.

"When China entered the World Trade Organization in 2001, we were in this city to witness the opening-up of the retail industry to foreign investment," said Lei Kaiting, general manager of Beiersdorf Group's China corporate affairs department.

"And the relentless double-digit annual growth for the next ten years from then on was a miracle that had never happened in our company's history before."

Lei spoke highly of the international openness in Shanghai, where their employees, especially those from overseas, can feel the open and inclusive environment.