Category Working in China

All work, no play

Foreign job-seekers discuss work opportunities at the 4th Expat Job Fair Saturday.

Foreign job-seekers discuss work opportunities at the 4th Expat Job Fair Saturday.

With autumn just around the corner, recent university graduates are putting the carefree days of summer behind them and buckling down in their job search. For foreign job-seekers, Shanghai Expat, one of the city’s most established online English-language communities, held its 4th Expat Job Fair Saturday, the second such event organized by the website this year.

Over 20 companies were in attendance at the fair to discuss open positions in fields such as education, healthcare, information technology, real estate, finance and catering. Over 1,300 job-seekers turned out as well, most of them overseas citizens. Many described the event as an invaluable opportunity where individuals and employers could meet face-to-face.

“Besides recruitment, companies can also take the opportunity to do branding promotion at the fair. For example, Fields China, an e-commerce company … is very popular among expats. The company not only recruits new staff at the job fair, they also promote their brand and business by providing free snacks,” said Fan Yiting, brand manager from Ringier China, the media group that owns Shanghai Expat.

Some English education institutions saw the job fair as a chance to further their recruitment plans. One of the teaching companies present at the fair, EF Education First, will recruit 200 teachers or so between September and March.

“We do have multiple positions all across China, so we’re looking forward to filling quite a few positions. Basically we’re looking for teachers to work with kids and teens, or at our online center and face-to-face with adults. Our teachers definitely need to have some teaching experience, ideally two years,” said Janice Hu, senior recruiter from EF Education First.

Hu added that the fair is also a good place to meet job-seekers who are already in China. “Lots of times we are dealing with people who are still overseas – maybe from the US or from the UK – and they are coming to China. But at this job fair, it’s a nice chance to see who is already in the city and ready to start a new position,” said Hu.

Some companies, on the other hand, were looking to recruit far fewer individuals.

“We have two open positions: one is for a sales adviser, the other is for an assistant,” said Deanna Greer, senior consultant from Pacific Prime, a provider of insurance services. “The administrative job is more of something we do back at the office, so I’m here specifically looking for the sales position. I’m trying to fill that.”

“We’re looking for someone who obviously has a bachelor’s degree … someone who has some time with other companies. We’re looking for people who are really motivated, very ambitious and sales-driven,” explained Greer, whose company attended the job fair organized by Shanghai Expat for the second time this year. Overall, Greer described her company’s participation in the fair as a positive experience.

“Last year we hired two people from this job fair. They are still with the company today. They’ve been very successful,” she explained.

Still, several employers explained that they regard the fair as merely a venue to connect with potential recruits. Most companies will conduct a more in-depth selection and review process after the fair to assess the candidate’s qualifications.

“The people who want to apply with us have to be very international and bilingual,” said Zhang Wenjing, an asset and tenancy management executive from Asia Pacific Properties. “They will not only face our clients from overseas, but also local people in Shanghai. And they need to have skills to negotiate with them.”

Some employers also spoke about the impact new work visa policies were having on their recruitment plans.

“We want to recruit a few foreign managers for our restaurants,” said Shi Hui, HR manager from Element Fresh. “Although there are many job-seekers here, we have to find some with catering industry experience. Because of tighter visa policies, now only people who have at least two years of full-time work experience in the same industry can apply for a work visa, so many candidates here are not qualified. This adds some difficulty to selecting candidates.”

Harry Vuylsteke from Belgium has been in Shanghai for 13 months. He is looking into technical sales jobs. He has a master’s degree in engineering as well as an MBA which he obtained in Shanghai.

“It would be great if there would be more companies,” Vuylsteke remarked when asked about the employers who were present at the fair. “(The fair) definitely gives you an idea about possible positions in China. I’ve been looking for a job for three weeks. The main feedback I always get is you need to speak Putonghua, so it’s really tough if you want to work in China.” Nevertheless, Vuylsteke added that, “it is really a nice thing to see that there’s a job fair for foreigners.”

More foreign students compete in China’s employment market

The competitive job market in Beijing has been hotter than the scorching summer this year, as it is not only proving to be tough for locals, but for foreign graduates seeking jobs as well. The market is further being heated up by new rules that allow foreign students to work part time while they study.

At a job fair held at the Beijing Friendship Hotel, foreign students are trying to land a job in China.

Last month, about 27 companies and institutions from China’ eastern Zhejiang Province offered 142 vacancies for positions including engineers, salespeople and foreign managers, which attracted some 200 foreigners, mostly students.

“I’ve come here to get experience and hopefully get a job in China,” 22-year-old Russian student Kristina Popova, from Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times.

It was Popova’s first time at a job fair. She has been studying Chinese for five years and has worked as a translator and part-time English teacher. Despite her existing experience in China, she said she was a bit worried.

“The interview officers seem very professional. I think they might be looking for someone with more experience,” she said.

There were over 320,000 international students studying at 690 universities across China in 2012, up 11 percent from 2011. That number is expected to reach 500,000 in 2016, according to the Department of International Cooperation and Exchange, under the Ministry of Education.

For many foreign students like Popova, China is seen as a land of possibilities. They might find jobs more easily than at home, with higher pay and a relatively more comfortable life. But not everything is easy. The path that leads to a job is often harder than they expect.

New policies

When it comes to working in China, one of the most important things that foreign students have to clarify with their Chinese employers is “will you get me a working visa?”

To get a working visa, foreigners must have at least two years of work experience in the relevant industry, which rules out most graduates. This means that foreign graduates have to go back home after graduation so they can apply for a job in China after getting the required experience.

Until last year, foreign students were not allowed to work part time or take on an internship while they were studying. Some believe these policies were the major reasons that stopped some foreign students from studying in China.

Employers face fines of up to 10,000 yuan ($1,600) for each foreigner illegally hired, and foreigners who work illegally may have their income confiscated and can face detention or deportation.

But there have been recent changes. Last year the government updated the current visa system and introduced some changes to the application process for a residence permit. For the first time, foreigners holding study residence permits were permitted to take part-time jobs or internships outside the campus as long as they obtain approval from their academic institutions and the entry and exit administrative authorities.

Lin Yaochen, a business assistant with Zhejiang-based King-Mazon Machinery Co. Ltd, who interviewed a dozen foreign students at the job fair in Beijing, told the Global Times that the company is willing to offer intern opportunities for inexperienced candidates.

“We are actually looking for the more experienced candidates, but the foreign students told us that their universities don’t offer them internship opportunities,” Lin said.

This is Lin’s third time hiring foreign talent in Beijing. “You can see these young people come prepared. They dress up in suits and greet us politely,” she said. “You can see they really take it seriously.”

At the end of a whole day of interviews, Lin said they had given out two official job offers and three internship opportunities.

During the summer hiring period this year, the career centers of many universities have been busy introducing this new rule to foreign students, who are about to compete with 7 million fresh Chinese graduates.

“I believe foreign students have a better chance than Chinese students,” Popova said.

However, education experts see it as an opportunity to promote culture. “I don’t think the increasing number of foreign students brings competition to Chinese graduates,” Zhu Dingjian, a representative of the standing committee of the All China Youth Federation, said while attending this year’s National People’s Congress in March.

“Friendship first, competition second,” Zhu continued. “Foreign students can promote diplomatic friendship no matter whether they work in China or at home.”

Ejaz Karim, 29, a Pakistani student studying at Tianjin Normal University, came all the way to Beijing for the job fair to gain experience.

Before coming to China, Karim had three years experiences working at a tour company at home. Now he wants to get into the hotel management industry.

“The economy in China is growing faster than in my country,” Karim told the Global Times. “I know the job market is becoming more and more competitive as the number of foreigners increase, but I think I can stand out with my international background.”

Foreigners with an international background, like Karim, are favored by many Chinese companies that are expanding their business networks overseas.

“We need more foreign professionals to push our products to go global,” Ge Wei, an HR manager at the Zhejiang-based Shanhai Machinery Company, told the Global Times. “We do not mind hiring talent from developing countries as they can develop new markets for us.”

The second thing that most foreign students are concerned about is payment. Generally foreign employees receive an income 2.5 times higher than Chinese employees in the same position.

But many inexperienced foreign students are satisfied with a lower starting salary. Popova said 5,000 yuan a month, with accommodation provided, would be acceptable.

“We can offer up to 40,000 yuan for a professional European engineer, plus an apartment,” said Lin. “For salespeople, 20,000 yuan a month is acceptable.”

New supervision and management

When China opened its doors to the world in 1980s, it was uncertain what kind of foreign talent it might attract. China’s foreign population has risen as the economy has grown.

Not all Chinese companies are permitted to hire foreigners. Companies that have been open for less than two years cannot, but some of these companies bypass these rules by asking foreign employees to get other types of visas such as business or tourist visas.

Over the years, the country has developed means of cracking down on foreigners working illegally. In May 2012, Beijing launched a 100-day crackdown on “illegal foreigners,” focusing on those working illegally in the city or who overstayed their visas. More than 60 models, mostly from Europe, were taken into custody for working without working visas last month in Shanghai and Guangzhou.

A year later, the authorities released new visa and residence permit regulations for foreigners, as well as new regulations about foreigners working in China.

The regulation strengthens supervision and management over foreigners, including allowing some institutions to verify their identities with exit-entry administration authorities when necessary, and making it necessary for foreign nationals to report to local entry and exit administrative authorities if they change jobs or house.

Some foreigners complain that the rules are changed too often. “Every year or 18 months, there are new rules. This can upset lots of foreigners because they don’t know where they stand. It’s inconsistent,” Carlos Ottery, 31, a teacher at the Communication University of China, told the Global Times.

Ottery has been living in China for five years with a working visa. Every time he leaves China, he has to report to the local police station within 24 hours when he comes back. He thinks this is an onerous task.

“As the regulations are getting stricter, I am afraid some small companies might think twice before getting a work visa for foreign employees,” an HR manager surnamed Zhu at a Beijing-based foreign company told the Global Times.

There have been some positive changes for foreign staff. In 2011, foreigners working in Chinese companies became eligible to participate in the national social insurance scheme, which covers pensions, medical, work-related injuries, unemployment and maternity insurance programs.

Now China is considering relaxing its “green card” policy. In the ten years since the system was launched in 2004, an average of just 248 foreigners obtained green cards annually, according to Xinhua.

But with or without a green card, staying in China is the priority for many foreign students. “I’ve been studying Chinese for five years, it would be a waste of time if I go home now,” Popova said.

When asked what if she couldn’t find a job, she considered the question for a moment. “Well, I would go for postgraduate study like Chinese students do,” she said.

China to Welcome More Professionals from Abroad

China will recruit more top-notch professionals from abroad this year, said the country’s human resources authorities on Wednesday.

It is hoped the high-level experts will fully engage in the country’s development, said a statement from the Organization Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, after a national meeting of Party and government officials in charge of human resources.

China has operated a recruitment program, named “Plan 1,000”, to attract overseas Chinese experts to build their careers in the country, since 2008.

So far 4,180 people have been recruited, 861 of them last year, the statement said.

These professionals, mostly scientists, have contributed to research in bioscience, plasma physics, nuclear technologies, space programs and satellites, it said.

But the government is also working on rules to end contracts with those who do not meet the needs of the country or fail to do their jobs, the statement added.

Job center focuses on helping expatriates

Moving your entire life to a foreign country can be hard. Finding housing, schools, medical care, not to mention a decent job, are just a few of the hurdles expatriates face.

Now China hopes to entice more skilled experts to its shores by making the task of relocating and securing a dream job a little bit easier.

The newly revamped Shanghai Employment Promotion Center has been modeled as a one-stop shop for foreign job seekers.

With more than 430 of the world’s top 500 companies now with offices in Shanghai, one step is to attract experts in short supply.

Shanghai is home to more than 160,000 expats. In 2013, they again ranked Shanghai as the most attractive city in China.

But while Shanghai may wow with its good looks, it’s the overall package that entices expats.

The Shanghai pilot free trade zone, launched on September 29, is China’s latest move in expanding economic dealings with the outside world.

Once upon a time, Chinese bureaucracies like the SEPC were little more than a rubber-stamp department, drowning applicants in mountains of paperwork.

But, at its base in Shanghai, staff here are now trying to woo workers from all corners of the world with the benefits of grabbing a job in the city.

Utilizing networks

Ding Feng, the center’s director, said they are the first port of call for companies seeking a recruitment permit, a requirement for hiring foreign workers in China.

“Foreign job-seekers could get work visas with the recruitment permit and then apply for a foreigner employment permit,”Ding said.

Documents here are in English, allowing foreigners with little knowledge of Chinese to register for employment or extend their visa.

“This is my first time and so far it seems to be very efficient,”one American job seeker said.“The staff are very helpful.”

Beyond the paperwork, the center has now extended its scope to helping expats utilize educational, medical and social networks.

It’s all part of the government’s recent endeavor to make their departments more service-oriented. Foreign employees, who are referred to as“foreign experts”in China, are among the target population of such services.

Rose Oliver from Britain is one of them. The 49-year-old works as a professor at Shanghai University.

“I found it to be more than just a bureaucratic-like agency,”Oliver said.

“It is more than an office that facilitates visas. They are actually concerned with expats’working lives, their lifestyles and the quality of life they have in China.”

Oliver said it’s the center’s personal touch that has helped her to“have real exposure to Chinese culture.”

This includes the cultural events run by the center that provide foreign experts with knowledge about living in China.

According to Huang Weimao, deputy director of the Shanghai Foreign Experts Affairs Bureau, streamlining all-important social security services is another vital role. The SEPC is under the bureau’s jurisdiction.

“We have close contact with expats, to give them help with obtaining child education, medical care and even housing,”Huang said.

The help is appreciated by expats like Oliver.“They provide a lot of security.”

“When we have problems, I contact Huang. We don’t necessarily have daily contact. But at least there is the knowledge that they are there if you need them,”Oliver said.

Health care concerns

Besides basic medical insurance, the bureau has coordinated with a state-owned company to offer tailored medical services for expats.

“Foreigners tend to have higher requirements,”Huang said.

The offerings of assistance have been expanded as part of the Expats Residence Law. The law, which took effect on July 1, grants foreign workers with a bachelor degree or above, equal access to investment, government jobs, schooling, and an all-important driver’s license.

Russian biologist Philip Khaytovich works in a joint scientific research center established by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Germany’s Max Planck Society.

“Before it was not clear what to do with us, because there was no legal framework to deal with foreigners, like how to provide social insurance,”Khaytovich said.“Now it has all changed.”

Khaytovich is part of China’s“1,000 Foreign Talents”program used to recruit scientists from around the world.

“I was fortunate to get into the talent program, as it provides generous support for our work. I think this can make China a very attractive place for research.”

The bureau is responsible for the program’s talent recruitment. With the top 500 companies on the look-out for executives and managerial experts, the bureau is right there helping.

Huang is especially seeking experts in the ship building, automobile, electro-mechanics and new materials industries.

Long-term visa

As part of luring and securing expat workers, China has plans to introduce a long-term visa. It will replace the working visa, which must be renewed annually.

“A lot of expats are willing to stay for a long time,”said Oliver.“They aren’t just coming for a year or two. They are coming to make a life here.”

Huang also just put another improvement in the pipeline.

“Foreign experts require a flexible visa policy,” Huang said.“The creation of the Shanghai free trade zone provides a chance for change.”

Khaytovich, 40, said he has already considered retiring in China.

The new residence law for expats allows foreigners to collect a pension, but Huang still admits new provisions may take some fine tuning.

How to apply for a foreigner employment permit

Requirements:

1. Applicants should be in good health with no infectious diseases such as leprosy, AIDS, STDs or pulmonary tuberculosis. They should also have no other disease according to specific job requirements.

2. An assured work unit.

3. Professional skills, proper educational degrees and over two years of work experience related to the job.

4. No criminal record.

5. Valid passport or other international travel identification that can substitute.

6. Men between 18 and 60 years old and women between 18 and 55, under common situations.

7. Other requirements required by laws and regulations.

Application materials:

1. An application form.

2. Copies of valid business licence or other legal registration certificates and organization code. Foreign enterprises should also provide a copy of the approval certificate.

3. The applicant’s resume including the highest educational degree and complete experience. The resume should be printed in Chinese with the employer’s seal.

4. Related certificates of applicant’s skills (certificates should be issued by related organizations or by the applicant’s former employers.)

5. Copy of related educational diploma to the job in China.

6. Copy of the applicant’s valid passport.

7. Other materials required by issuing authorities.

Where to submit

? Shanghai Employment Promotion Center

Address: 4F, 77 Meiyuan Road

Phone: 12333 or 3251-1585

Opening hours:

9am to 11:30am and 1:30pm to 5pm from Monday to Thursday

9am to 11:30am and 1:30pm to 3:30pm on Friday

Closed at weekend.

? Foreigners in Huangpu, Xuhui, Jing’an, Changning, Jiading and Putuo districts and the Pudong New Area can go to district employment promotion centers to apply for the permit. Foreigners in other districts must go to the Shanghai Employment Promotion Center.

Huangpu: 525 Nanchezhan Road

Xuhui: 1F, 9118 Humin Road

Jing’an: Counter 5, 2F, 241 Wuning Road S.

Pudong: 3995 Pudong Road S.

Changning: 1F, 517 Wuyi Road

Jiading: 1F, 119 Jiajian Road

Putuo: 1F, 1036 Wuning Road

China, Japan entering global competition for foreign workers

Some say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If that’s the case, Canadian immigration officials should be flattered.

According to Chinese news media, China will be introducing a list of skills currently in demand in the country, in order to aid its recruitment of foreign talent.

A report in the China Daily in late September quoted an unnamed foreign affairs official saying Beijing is “identifying shortages in the domestic labour market” to “learn what types of workers (domestic firms) felt are hard to find.”

The wording strikes an uncanny resemblance to what Canadian immigration minister Chris Alexander said in Vancouver just two weeks ago — that the federal government, through its Expression of Interest program, is looking to fill areas where there is specific labour needs with foreign talent.

Also shared by Beijing’s announcement and Alexander’s speech was a call to private enterprise to help the central governments compile the most up-to-date list possible, so the foreign talent being brought into the country can immediately integrate and contribute.

Coincidence? More than likely. But the fact that a major power in global politics is now taking a similar model as Canada in identifying and addressing domestic talent deficiencies demonstrates both the effectiveness of the Canadian system and the fierce competition for the best and the brightest around the world.

Beijing’s announcement came two years after the city of Shanghai began publishing its own oversea recruitment list, according to China Daily. The list was modest in size — 72 positions that nine state-owned enterprises were looking to fill.

The national skills list is to be published next year, although no other details, such as the number of positions needing to be filled, have been released. It is unlikely that the numbers would be as large as the Canadian program — Beijing specified “foreign recruitment,” not “immigration,” as the key process of gaining talent, indicating they are looking to fill only the top echelon of the labour market.

Still, with China looking for talents in the management, technology and science fields, and the market’s access to a region where the two biggest economies (China and Japan) are both on the rise this year (not to mention the growing importance of the Southeast Asian markets, led by the big six of Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines), the attractiveness of the opportunities for foreign workers speaks for itself.

In some places closer to China, the draw of Beijing is already rivalling that of the United States. The South Korean government released data last week that 62,855 Korean students studied in China in 2012, almost quadruple the number (16,372) recorded in 2001.

The data also shows, however, that North America — both the U.S. and Canada — continue to be extremely popular, as well. Seoul’s figures put the Korean student population in the United States at 73,351, the most of any nation around the world. Canada, meanwhile, sits third at 20,658, followed by Japan and Australia.

What this means is that, while Canada may be faced with other countries competing for the same foreign talents, it still has an inherent attractiveness to immigrants and potential labour. The key, however, is not to become complacent — because, as it can be seen above, the competition is fierce.

Chinese visa for high-calibre talents: Faster, easier

High-calibre overseas talents will benefit from a faster visa application process, according to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MHRSS) on Tuesday.

The ministry said in a circular that various government organs and state-owned enterprises should submit details of their overseas talent introduction programs to the ministry or the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs (SAFEA).

These departments can apply for visas and residency permits via a priority procedure for talented people as well as their families.

Meanwhile, high-level overseas talents working in the country outside these programs will also enjoy a faster application process if they meet various conditions, said the circular.

The circular was jointly released by the MHRSS, the ministries of public security and foreign affairs, the Organization Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the SAFEA.

Stay or leave? Question for overseas students of Chinese origin

“Many of my classmates and I want to stay in China after graduation because of its fast economic development; and also because we have Chinese origins, and our ‘roots’ are here”, Yuan Yirui, a Chinese Argentinian student from Tsinghua University told China News service.

Despite this year being labeled as “the hardest year” to find a job due to the growth of graduates and a decline in the number of job postings, Yuan still decided to stay in China after graduation. “I’ve got used to living here and I just cannot cut my emotional ties with China,” Yuan said.

Yuan has been studying in Beijing for five years and speaks Spanish, English and Chinese.

“Most of the overseas students speak several languages. We are more competent when finding a job no matter whether it is in China or back in our own countries,” Yuan said.

Unlike Yuan Yirui, Chinese Malaysian student Li Meici from Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics is preparing to go back to her country.

“I was offered a part-time job in a bakery, but the company took away the offer after finding out that I’m a Malaysian,” Li said.

After that, Li tried several other companies, but all of them rejected recruiting her because she is not a Chinese national.

Another Chinese Malaysian student Cai Huichuan, who studied in Peking University, experienced the same obstacle during her job hunting.

Statistics show that there were 328,330 overseas students in China in 2012. Now those who are going to graduate this year are in the same situation as the local students – facing the hardest year to get a job.

The overseas students who decide to stay in Beijing are more likely to work in foreign companies, especially the Beijing branch offices of their own countries’ companies, China News Service reported.

Many companies in China are not allowed to recruit foreigners according to local regulations. Even those having qualifications may not choose to hire them for a number of reasons, given the complicated situation this year.

Foreign graduates of Chinese origin may prefer to stay in China, but they will have to face various obstacles as Li Meici and Cai Huichuan have discovered.

New working visas for China lack clarity, says Baker McKenzie

New regulations for employing foreigners in China do not identify eligibility criteria for high-level and in-demand professional talent, says global law firm Baker McKenzie.

New proposals to China’s Entry and Exit Control Law, published last week, take effect on 1 July and come after February’s announcement of new laws that raise questions over the future of agency work in the country.

In draft form, the laws do not “identify the eligibility criteria” for a new ‘R’ visa, which will be introduced for high-level personnel and professionals in short supply in the country, Baker McKenzie says.

The current ‘F’ visa for business use will be moved to a new ‘M’ category.

The new laws will also reinforce the illegality of working without a valid employment and residence permit, and redefining the rules for students interning in the country.

The end of the expat dream? Foreigners facing increasingly competitive Chinese job market

As the school year concludes in China, many students are ecstatic for the summer break and excited for the bigger and better things they will see in September when they enter the next grade. Their foreign teachers from the West however, will most likely not enjoy the same sense of achievement felt from moving into a higher position. Lately, expatriates holding entry-level positions in China, such as English teachers and interns as well as recent graduates, are finding it increasingly difficult to find fulfilling work.

Amid massive youth unemployment in the West, China once seemed like a land of opportunity for young Westerners to succeed and achieve their dreams faster than they would have back home.

The startling success of the Chinese Chinese economy does not translate however to immediate opportunities for every foreigner considering a move to China. At least, not any more. Increasingly, simply being from a rich, English speaking country is not viewed as a qualification in and of itself.

Even those with engineering degrees, which are known to grab high paying positions in the West, are still facing difficulties securing similar work in China. Take these two examples, who spoke of their difficulties finding work to the New York Times:

Brett Edman, who moved to Beijing in February after studying Chinese and engineering in Australia, said he approached Himin and had no luck. “I can understand if they are looking for specific things, but they didn’t seem interested in talking to me anyway,” Mr. Edman, 25, said. “Even my major is directly related to their business, so that was a bit surprising.”

Max Scholl, 23, who studied environmental engineering at the University of Vermont, has been in China for 10 months teaching English at a kindergarten. His salary is 10,000 renminbi, or $1,600, a month. Most of that is sent home to pay off student loans, and he is concerned that he cannot find employment in his chosen field. “It is a little frightening, the situation I am in,” he said.

The competitiveness of the Chinese job market is governed not by amount of education but rather something else. The reason for the woes of foreigners is simple: their foreignness. They must not only compete with the other 600,000 expatriates in China, but of course also with the young and educated Chinese population. Obviously locals hold a significant advantage, in terms of language, familiarity and experience in China. According to the New York Times Chinese students who have gone abroad to study are the greatest competition for foreigners in China, they are the “more qualified applicants on the market” in part due to their “overseas university degrees, multiple languages and an international outlook.”

This return of students who studied abroad to China is an exponentially growing trend that will continue to exacerbate competition for expatriates. According to The Guardian:

(Foreginers) now have to contend with around 285,000 Chinese students who have been sent overseas to study, up from 24,000 in 1995, according to EIC Group China, an educational services provider. Locals have high expectations when returning to their home country after a stint abroad – and debts to pay off. Most come back with English which is far better than any foreigner’s Mandarin.”

Exacerbating this trend, how Chinese society views foreigners is also experiencing great change. Their presence is no longer thought of as a new and exciting concept and the special status that foreigners once received simply by dint of being foreign is diminishing (as it should do). Tea Leaf Nation explains:

First off, they are less and less a novelty. Once upon a time, they were asked to pose for photos wherever they went. While this is still true in most areas, they are now hardly given a second glance in the trendier areas of big cities. With more of them around, expats have been demystified – and more opportunities for interaction have perhaps led local Chinese to a startling revelation: that many foreigners are poor students, or are struggling to make ends meet, while China’s middle class is only growing more and more wealthy.

With all of this, perhaps many young and educated expatriates will leave the country disillusioned with their personal “Chinese Dream”, disappointed that it wasn’t easy to jump right into a high paying job. This sort of entitlement and indignation is a trait pervasive among graduates in my home country of Canada, and it certainly isn’t doing anyone any favours in China. Being a successful expatriate in China has become more difficult, but it is by no means impossible. China and the West only become more interlinked every year, and qualified individuals will always be needed to help maintain and grow this bond. China has done its part by improving rapidly over the past 30 years, now it just wants its foreign guests to keep up the pace.

Expats prefer Beijing, Shanghai

The living environment has become a growing concern for expatriates working in Shanghai and Beijing, although the two cities topped a list of the most attractive Chinese cities for expats, a new study found.

The survey — 2012 Amazing China, conducted between September and December by International Talent, a magazine under the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs — gauged views of 175,400 expats working in China about their favorite Chinese cities.

Among those expats, 1,050 were surveyed about their opinions on the policy, administration, and working and living environments of their cities.

Shanghai and Beijing were topped the list, followed by Shenzhen, Suzhou, Kunming, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Tianjin, Xiamen and Qingdao.

In Shanghai and Beijing, their living-environment scores were lower than those of other cities, said Zhang Xiao, who was in charge of the survey.

Cities such as Suzhou, Kunming and Hangzhou received comparatively high scores in living environment, and that helped boost their rankings, she said.

Despite topping the chart for three years, Beijing and Shanghai underperformed this time in living environment as foreigners living in these two cities have complained about the worsening air pollution, according to the survey.

The smog-shrouded sky over Beijing is discouraging expats from staying longer and scaring away others who would otherwise love to visit, work, and live in the city, the study showed.

“Recruitment has become difficult as the number of foreigners who are applying for teaching positions in Beijing has decreased by at least half compared with the same time last year,” said Yang Sha, general manager with Angelina International Placement Service in Beijing, which specializes in hiring foreigners to teach languages in schools in China.

“Air quality is absolutely the main reason,” he said.

All four foreign staff members in Yang’s company left Beijing this year because of the smog.

One left for the southern city of Xiamen, Fujian province, and the others went back to their home countries, Yang said.