TEN laureates and five nominees are honored amid the unveiling of the 2nd Hongqiao Friendship Award today. The entrepreneurs, professionals, and executives, who are dedicated to the economic and social development of Changning District, are ambassadors of international friendship and deserving recipients of the district’s highest honor given to an expatriate.

The Hongqiao Friendship Alliance was established to offer an exchange platform for top-notch expats who are living, working in Changning and dedicated to the prosperity of the district.

The alliance comprises recipients of the Hongqiao Friendship Award, recipients of the Shanghai Magnolia Award, and other outstanding foreigners with strong influence who have made remarkable contributions to Shanghai and Changning District.

The alliance is under the guidance of the Changning District Joint Meeting on Honorary Titles for Foreign Citizens. The secretariat is the Foreign Affairs Office of Changning District.

The alliance organizes one or two dialogues, meetings or activities every year, to enhance mutual understanding, and encourage outstanding foreigners to share their experience and valuable insights for Changning District to build an international community of excellence.

Shanghai Daily provides brief biographies of the deserving winners.

Among the laureates, Sungwon Chae carries forward the concept of the “city outlets” and turned ParksonNewcore into a sample of new retail, leading a new round of commercial real estate development throughout the country.

General Manager of ParksonNewcore Retail (Shanghai) Co, Ltd, the businessman from the Republic of Korea (ROK) has been in Changning for more than five years and always provides his customers, in particular those from nearby, high-quality products with the most favorable prices.

Chae also worked together with the ROK government to build the Shanghai ParksonNewcore Korea Pavilion to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of China-ROK diplomacy, providing an exotic experience for residents of Changning District.

With the support of the ROK Ministry of Culture, ParksonNewcore sponsored the first China-ROK Enterprise Badminton Friendship Tournament in Shanghai, promoting a healthy lifestyle and conveying the concept of friendship in Asia.

Chae is also an active participant in charity activities to support impoverished children and welfare institutions.

A veteran in law practice, Carlo D’Andrea founded D’Andrea & Partners Legal Counsel in Shanghai in 2013, mainly providing investment consulting and legal consulting services.

D’Andrea and his law firm have introduced a total investment of approximately US$420 million to China, and encouraged many multinational companies to establish regional headquarters in Shanghai.

Chairman of the Board of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, D’Andrea helped to establish the corporate social responsibility award by the Shanghai Chapter of EU Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC), with over a hundred participating enterprises.

During his tenure as chairman of the Board of the EUCCC, and vice-president of EUCCC, D’Andrea regularly holds exchanges with major leaders of the Shanghai government. He also submitted the “Business Confidence Survey of the EUCCC,” and offers relevant suggestions.

With his efforts, Koguan School of Law of Shanghai Jiao Tong University established ties with the law school of the University of Teramo in Italy to carry out international exchanges and cooperation. Funded by D’Andrea & Partners, scholarships are awarded annually to outstanding exchange students to assist them in completing their studies, and to provide them with employment opportunities.

Hiroyuki Miyato was appointed as president of House Foods China Inc in April 2022.

In 2022, Miyato instructed the company to prioritize fulfilling its supply responsibilities.

The curry produced by House Foods was distributed as part of a government supply to approximately 1.2 million families, accounting for 17 percent of all households throughout the city.

Meanwhile, House Foods China jointed hands with the Shanghai Soong Ching Ling Foundation to establish Shanghai Soong Ching Ling Foundation House Foods (China) Special Fund, to which the company has donated 500,000 yuan annually in the past six years to promote dietary education and other public welfare activities.

During his 15 years of work at Danaher, Yang Peng has held various positions, including in global production operations, global customer service, global supply chain and distribution, as well as being a general manager in the Asia Pacific region, in Japan and China.

Peng, from Singapore, is fully responsible for Danaher Group’s business of about US$4.5 billion in China. He directly manages all business platforms in China and functional departments of China headquarters, and is responsible for formulating and implementing Danaher China strategy that closely links to China’s national health and environment policies.

Peng has served as the president of Danaher China for over five years. With a total registered capital of over US$ 300 million, Danaher China covers multiple fields such as vitro diagnositcs, life sciences and biotechnology.

In 2021, the company invested US$100 million to build a diagnostic platform research and production base in Suzhou, fully leveraging the spillover effects of research and innovation in Shanghai, in response to the Yangtze River Delta integration strategy.

That same year, an investment agreement of US$40 million was signed for an innovation center in the Lingang Special Area. In 2023, the group extensively expanded the Cytiva Asian Innovation Center in Zhangjiang and the Leica research and development and manufacturing base located in Jinqiao.

After completion, the project is expected to drive regional biopharmaceutical production capacity of over 2.5 billion yuan. The company’s revenue in China in 2022 was about US$4.5 billion, and the tax revenue in Shanghai exceeded 2 billion yuan.

Per Askeland, head of the DNV China Company Limited, promotes the safety and sustainable development of various business lines of the company, and provide solutions for major projects such as reducing marine pollution, promoting clean energy, and lowering carbon emissions.

Also the regional finance manager for DNV North Asia, Askeland actively participates in various activities in Changning, providing advice and suggestions for regional development, including the roundtable meeting of the multinational regional headquarters in Changning District, and the suggestion meeting on the Foreign Investment Law by Hongqiao Sub-district’s local contact point of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. In 2023, he was appointed as a “Greater Hongqiao International Experience Officer.”

As a member of the board of directors of the Norwegian Chamber of Commerce, Askeland is committed to strengthening cooperation between Changning and the Norwegian Chamber of Commerce in order to attract more Norwegian companies to invest in Changning.

Dr Sarai Nietvelt from Belgium is a family medicine physician. Program director of the family medicine fellowship of the Shanghai United Family Hospital, she promotes cooperation between the hospital and medical schools.

Under her leadership, the United Family Hospital Family Medicine Training Program has become a cooperative partner of Shanghai Tongji University School of Medicine and Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine to jointly level up the clinical practice ability of medical students and to organize mentoring courses to explore the feasibility of teaching methods such as “simulated clinic,” “clinic for observation,” and “video reviews.”

In 2022, she and her colleagues worked day and night at the front line in fever clinics, fulfilling their duty of treating patients and saving lives, and contributing to the final victory against the virus.

Tadashi Shoji, design director of Shanghai Zhentao Industry Co, Ltd, is the founder of the TADASHI SHOJI brand and has established branches in the United States, Japan, and China.

TADASHI SHOJI covers more than 5,000 fashion department stores and boutique stores, and has become one of the most famous and successful fashion brands throughout the world.

As the exclusive designer for Miss Universe and Miss International, Shoji deepens understanding and strengthens cooperation between China and the host countries. He also contributes to the friendly exchanges between China and Japan through his influence in the fashion industry in these two nations. His fashion show at New York Fashion Week facilitates communication between China and the United States.

Zhaohua Wang, senior vice president of Michelin China, helped Michelin China to relocate its business team from Beijing to Changning, Shanghai.

An experienced lawyer and once head of Michelin’s legal affairs and government relations in China, he puts forward constructive suggestions for the rule of law construction in China and Shanghai, especially for policies such as opening up and attracting foreign investment, and actively promotes Shanghai’s foreign-funded business environment.

He also assisted Michelin’s hosting of the international sustainable mobility event “Michelin Challenge Bibendum” in Shanghai in 2004 and 2007, with the aim of promoting technological exchange between China and foreign countries in the field of new energy vehicles.

George Christopher Yan is founder and chief executive officer of Shanghai Clobotics Technology Co, Ltd, which empowers new retail and new energy through AI, filling domestic technological gaps, and achieving global leadership.

His company currently serves business in nearly 30 countries throughout the world, with overseas revenue growth doubled in 2022.

In 2021, in response to the call for common prosperity, Yan and his team launched the “Smart AI Freezer + Brand Merchant” promotion plan, empowering nearly 7 million small shops and supermarkets across the country, and helping to improve the living, shopping and school environment of the local people.

Yan also actively participated in Changning’s one-on-one support to Honghe Hani Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province. His team paired with two local villages, donating money and providing more working opportunities.

Rixin Zhang serves as general manager of Vector Automotive Technology (Shanghai) Co, Ltd. He manages a team of professional personnel. In just seven years from 2017 to 2023, the number of employees in the company grew from 78 to 213.

Vector’s professional team is deeply involved in the fields of automotive electronic and electrical system design and management, embedded systems and software, distributed system testing, diagnosis, ECU calibration and measurement, and code testing, providing customers with high-quality products, consulting services, and technical solutions, assisting China’s automotive industry in achieving success in key technologies.

In the past three years, the company’s order volume has increased from 840 million yuan to 1.55 billion yuan. Vector contributed 230 million yuan in tax in Changning in 2022.