From Intern2China to Starting a Business in Shanghai

Last week, we had the pleasure of sitting down with Xinyi Wang, a participant of the Spring 2026 wave of Intern2China who completed her placement with the help of the Benelux Chamber of Commerce, and has since taken the leap to launch her own social media marketing company in Shanghai. Here's her story, in her own words.

Tell us about yourself, and what brought you back to China.

I'm Xinyi Wang, I'm from Belgium, and I'm 25 years old. I have Chinese roots, and after finishing my internship through the Intern2China program from the Benelux Chamber of Commerce, I knew I wanted to build something of my own here in Shanghai. Coming back felt like coming home, I fell in love with the city, and I wanted to get out of my smaller bubble in Belgium and pursue something bigger.

I actually spent a couple of months applying for jobs first, but the market here is quite tough right now, which made me realize that if opportunities don't come to me, I'll have to create them myself! So, I decided to start my own company instead.
 

What's the company about and what problem are you solving?

Every year more tourists and expats arrive in China, but most of them don't use Chinese platforms like Dianping or Xiaohongshu, they're on Instagram, Facebook, and Google instead. I help local Chinese businesses, like restaurants, cafés, spas, nail salons, and photo studios, get discovered by that audience by creating content and managing their presence on Western social media.

Depending on the client, that can mean building an account from scratch, or acting as a bridge between their online presence here and the audiences abroad, by listing them on Google Maps, Reviews, and more. It's really an all-encompassing digital marketing solution for anyone trying to reach tourists, expats, and people who come to China.

What's been the hardest part of doing this as a foreigner, and has your background helped?

The language, honestly. I speak Chinese quite well, but selling to local businesses takes a level of formal Chinese I'm still building. Where my background does help is bridging two worlds, growing up in Belgium with Chinese roots means I understand how both Chinese locals and Western audiences think, and that's proving to be a real strength.
 

Where does the company stand today, and what's next?

I just got my business license, which I'm really proud of. It's the first real step, and also the scariest, because now I actually need to deliver. Right now I'm building my first case study for a client, putting together an onboarding model, a content calendar, photography and videography, and managing their social media a few times a week.

The next 12 months are simply about hard work and landing those first clients. I don't know exactly where this is all going yet, but I'm going somewhere, and learning as I go.
 

What would you tell someone considering the same leap?

Just start. You're never really ready for something this big, you just have to jump in and learn along the way.

I mainly work with Chinese local businesses looking to reach a Western audience, and I'm always open to new conversations. If anyone reading this is interested in growing their business's presence with international audiences, I'd love to talk!

At the Benelux Chamber of Commerce, supporting our members every step of the way is at the heart of what we do, and Xinyi's journey is a perfect example of that spirit in action. We're proud to see our Intern2China participants take bold steps like this one, and we'll continue to support her as she grows her business, looking forward to seeing where this new chapter takes her.