STORY: African entrepreneurs eye opportunities in China's Xiong'an New Area
SHOOTING DATE: March 25, 2024
DATELINE: Mar. 28, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:08
LOCATION: XIONG'AN, China
CATEGORY: SOCIETY/ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): GODSWORD GEORGE CHINEMEREM, Nigerian entrepreneur
2. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): OMANE VINCENT KWAKYE, Ghanaian entrepreneur
3. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): SAMUEL NWOKOCHA, Student from Shenyang University
4. SOUNDBITE 4 (English): GODSWORD GEORGE CHINEMEREM, Nigerian entrepreneur
5. SOUNDBITE 5 (English): OMANE VINCENT KWAKYE, Ghanaian entrepreneur
6. SOUNDBITE 6 (English): SAMUEL NWOKOCHA, Student from Shenyang University
7. SOUNDBITE 7 (English): OMANE VINCENT KWAKYE, Ghanaian entrepreneur

STORYLINE:

Attracted by opportunities, two young entrepreneurs and one university student from African countries have eyed their future in Xiong'an New Area. Two of them are among the first foreigners to register companies here.

In April 2017, China announced a plan to establish the Xiong'an New Area, which is some 100 km southwest of Beijing.

The new area aims to relieve Beijing of non-essential functions related to its status as the nation's capital, while also advancing the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): GODSWORD GEORGE CHINEMEREM, Nigerian entrepreneur
"My name is George. I am from Nigeria. I'm 32 years old."

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): OMANE VINCENT KWAKYE, Ghanaian entrepreneur
"My name is Vincent. I'm from Ghana."

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): SAMUEL NWOKOCHA, Student from Shenyang University
"I am a student of Shenyang University studying Master of Business Administration."

SOUNDBITE 4 (English): GODSWORD GEORGE CHINEMEREM, Nigerian entrepreneur
"I love this city because I see a lot of prospects in this city. I say this is not to amaze anybody, but this is my personal finding. There are a lot of opportunities here in Xiong'an. The services (for entrepreneurs) are pretty swift. I'm very much welcome here. I'm super happy."

SOUNDBITE 5 (English): OMANE VINCENT KWAKYE, Ghanaian entrepreneur
"Xiong'an is a relatively very new and very young city. And I am also quite young. I'm 27. And we all know when it comes to the future, (one) should actually put in effort to develop ourselves for the future. And I feel like in that sense with Xiong'an, the government is putting in effort to develop it. Also, I expect that as I am growing, learning and becoming better (at) expanding my business, Xiong'an is also going to help me to expand my business as well with various technologies."

SOUNDBITE 6 (English): SAMUEL NWOKOCHA, Student from Shenyang University
"When I graduate in 2025, I will gladly want to open a business here in Xiong'an. Since it is easy and the city is welcoming to foreigners like me, it would be a dream for me to stay long in Xiong'an, to watch my own business, (to) watch it grow, make the right connections and bring even more people into this place to grow the economy of Xiong'an."

SOUNDBITE 7 (English): OMANE VINCENT KWAKYE, Ghanaian entrepreneur
"I am not very certain of my place in the future here. I believe that this (Xiong'an) is going to help me and my family. I believe that Xiong'an is going to be something very big in the future."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Xiong'an, China.
(XHTV)