The Shanghai municipal government conferred on Monday the 2025 Magnolia Gold Award on 28 foreign nationals and the Honorary Citizen of Shanghai on two expatriates, recognizing their positive contributions to the city's development and international exchanges.

This year's Honorary Citizen of Shanghai, the city's highest honor for foreign nationals, was presented to Simon Lichtenberg, founder of Trayton Group and president of the Danish Chamber of Commerce in China and Severin Schwan, chairman of the board of directors of the Swiss healthcare company Roche Group and the executive chairman of the International Business Leaders' Advisory Council for the Mayor of Shanghai.

Lichtenberg, who describes himself as a "vibrant and adventurous" type, has been connected to China since his youth through learning Chinese. In Shanghai for 33 years, he said he has always felt the city's welcoming, openness, and acceptance, and witnessed the rapid economic and social development of the city and the nation.

"Shanghai has become a global leading international city in so many ways: investment opportunities, business environment, technology, culture, education, innovation, social development, and it is so very well managed. The people of Shanghai are industrious, innovative, and resilient. Shanghai is my home and it's a wonderful place for me, my business, and my family," he said.

However, he noted that Shanghai and China are not well understood by many people in the West. Now, as an Honorary Citizen of Shanghai, he is particularly feeling "a big responsibility in doing more to play a bridging role" to foster understanding and friendship, as well as deepen mutually beneficial cooperation between people and countries.

Named after Shanghai's city flower and serving as the city's highest honor for expatriates, the Honorary Citizenship was established in 1997, following the launch of the Magnolia Silver Award in 1989 and the Gold Award in 1992. To date, a total of 1,907 honored expatriates have been honored by the city, consisting of 51 Honorary Citizens of Shanghai, 390 Magnolia Gold Award recipients, and 1,466 Magnolia Silver Award recipients.

This year, the 28 Magnolia Gold Award recipients come from diverse countries and fields such as finance, trade, technology, shipping, healthcare, consumer products, education, research, and culture. Despite different expertise in various sectors, they share the same love for the city and confidence in its future.

Yann Bozec from France, president of Tapestry Asia-Pacific, regards Shanghai as a "unique" city globally for its strong blend of the 5,000-year-old history and cutting-edge modernity. Seeing the city developing into one of the key fashion cities in the world, he was confident that more innovation and cool things would come from China, and especially from the city.

"People here are incredible entrepreneurs and are always very resilient. They embrace the changes, bring the newness, embrace new technology, and drive it as well. That's why I feel Shanghai is the most exciting city to live in," Bozec added.

"Innovation" was one of the most frequently mentioned words by the award recipients when talking about working and living in Shanghai. Bertrand Regnier from France, global managing partner of EY French Business Network, said Shanghai has been making efforts to facilitate innovation, which is not only for China, but also for the world to continuously grow.

Joost Vlaanderen from the Netherlands, president of Mondelez Greater China, has been living in Shanghai since 2018, and is spending 10 hours per week studying Chinese. He was deeply impressed by the city's speed of growth and believes such development will continue.

"The thing I like most working and living here is the speed of change and the speed of development in China — it's addictive", he said. "Shanghai is my second hometown."

Several other award recipients share similar sentiments with Vlaanderen.

"Shanghai is the land of opportunities. And it's my home not only now, but forever. I have the permanent resident card here, and my family is here. I will not leave — here will be where I stay and where I retire," said Knight with a smile, who enjoys life with the welcoming culture, food, profound civilization, and especially the "irreplaceable" Chinese people each day.

Alexander Rhys Gregg-Smith from the United Kingdom, senior vice-president at Bureau Veritas Marine (China) Co Ltd, has been in Shanghai for 13 years and became a permanent resident in the city in 2020. Dedicated to the maritime sector, he feels "belonged" to the city and especially loves the "can-do attitude" of the people here.

"Shanghai is like my home city, and it's really one of the best, if not the best, in the world. It is a vibrant, fantastic, and brilliant city — it has everything," he said.

It is just the sense of feeling like home that may explain why these honored expats are actively thinking about contributing more to the community and the city.

Bozec is looking to work with a group of friends to establish a mentorship to support students in better adapting to the working community. Masahiko Suga from Japan, general manager of the business design department at Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co Ltd, is hoping to promote China-Japan cooperation in sectors such as fintech, green growth, and digitalization. Michel Hossler from France, founder and chief designer at Agence Ter, would like to fill the city with more green through landscape designs.

Luo Bin contributed to this story.