China lags behind in global talent recruitment

Gov't should provide more incentives to foreign talent

China urgently needs more qualified international talent, with Shanghai the country's only city that enjoys global talent competitiveness above the world's average, a new report revealed.

Shanghai is the favorite Chinese city of foreign talent, said the report, released by the Center for China and Globalization (CCG) on Monday, followed by Beijing, South China's Guangdong Province and East China's Jiangsu Province.

Shanghai beat other cities and scored 65.17 out of 100 in global talent competitiveness, because of its openness, work environment, job opportunities and preferential policies.

"I finally chose to stay in Shanghai because it has more work opportunities than other Chinese cities, and the city's lifestyle is more international, which makes me feel more comfortable," said Juan, a Mexican electronics engineer who has worked in several other Chinese cities.

Surprisingly, East China's Jiangsu Province has more foreign talent than Beijing, the CCG report said.

Coastal province Jiangsu is home to many foreign companies because it's relatively developed and the environment is enjoyable and pleasant, Zhang Yunling, director of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute for International Studies, told the Global Times.

The Jiangsu government has invested heavily to attract foreign talent, CCG vice secretary Zheng Qinglian said.

For instance, a medical park in Taizhou city gives each PhD holder an additional subsidy of 20,000 yuan ($3,070) and 150,000 yuan to buy a house, Jiangsu's official newspaper, Xinhua Daily, reported.

However, Wang Huiyao, head of Southwestern University of Finance and Economics' Institute of Development Studies, said China's global talent competitiveness still lags behind developed countries.

According to the 2017 Global Talent Competitiveness Index, a report produced by The Business School for the World (INSEAD), China ranks 54th in global talent competitiveness.

As a developing country, China faces the challenge of attracting international talent because it provides less work opportunities for foreigners than developed countries, and Chinese society is relatively more conservative, said Zhang, adding that foreigners also face cultural and language barriers.

Providing incentives

"China has a great potential to attract international talent," said Xie Shouguang, head of the Social Sciences Academic Press.

China is in a reasonably robust position of talent readiness because of improvements to its educational and employment system, connectivity of stakeholders, and level of technological competence, the INSEAD report said.

Many foreigners also complained that aside from cultural and language barriers, they also have a difficult time applying for a visa. Reforms have been implemented in different regions to correct this problem.

"It is impossible for fresh college graduates to apply for a work visa because the country requires two years of work experience," Jon, a Dane, who currently studies in Shanghai, told the Global Times.

The Shanghai government began a pilot program in 2015 that allows foreign students with a master's degree from Shanghai universities to start a business after graduating, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

In May, the Anhui government said that high-level foreign talent, their spouse and minor children, as well as overseas Chinese with PhD degrees who work in Anhui, can apply for permanent residency.