In an attempt to increase the number of foreign professionals and investors in China, the government has confirmed that it plans to have easier requirements for permanent residence and visa policies.
According to a news report by CCTV, the country even wants to expand social security system benefits to qualifying foreign workers. This implies that foreigners will be able to enjoy the same perks as Chinese citizens such as retirement, unemployment, medical, and maternity benefits.
The Ministry of Public Security, on the other hand, has mentioned that seven types of employment for foreign residents are allowed to be considered for a Chinese green card which are as follows: national laboratories, engineering research centers, technology centers of state-accredited high-tech companies and foreign-funded R&D centers.
Interested applicants need to comply with certain standards. First and foremost, they need to have professional titles that are at or above associate professor or associate fellow. Moreover, they should at least have four years of working experience in China.
CareerBuilder, a job website from the United States, previously shared a report that around 70% chose China mainly because of the country’s “fast development momentum” and “steady economic growth.”
From 2011 to 2015, around 3 million foreign professionals started working in China. In perspective, this statistic implies an increase of more than 30% compared with the preceding five years.
In an interview with CCTV, Daniel Hjelm, IT manager said “Industry is really booming here, therefore you can make our own footprint, you don’t touch so much legacy of how things used to run. It’s creating the market of many fields for the first time,”
As far as foreign investors are concerned, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has expressed that they would continually work towards “creating a favorable environment for foreign companies and protecting the legal rights of foreign investors.”