I HAVE A QUESTION: Can China attract world-class talents?

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CAN I GET A GREEN CARD?

John Robert Rowland is a US citizen who has been living in Shanghai for six years and wants to make China his new home.

He has spent three months preparing all the documentation needed to apply for a permanent residence (PR) permit. And the wait has been six months – an average timeframe for most applications before they get approved.

“Without my assistant’s help, I wouldn’t [even] think about applying… the procedure is too complicated,” Rowland, who is a chief engineer with semiconductor firm SpreadTrum Communications, says.

Rowland’s case is just one of the many who have deemed applying for a China green card as either too thorny or they are just unsure if they meet the qualifications.

Some 7,356 foreigners obtained Chinese PR status between 2004, when the country first issued the permit, and 2013, a mere one percent of the reportedly over 600-thousand foreigners living in the country during that time.

China is touted to be one of the hardest countries to get a permanent residence permit. /CGTN photo by cameraman Wang Jigang

Karel Vits, a Belgium national, received his Chinese PR permit in 2010. He attaches great importance to it as it frees up his time from having to renew his visa once every few years.

“Another advantage of the card is, as a foreigner, you do not need to have the employment permit to justify your stay in China,” Vits says. He is a process engineering lab manager at Solvay (China), a specialty chemicals company.

“It gives me an increased feeling of security because if for one reason or another I would have to change jobs or become jobless; I can still stay in China and would not have to leave the country within a short period of time.”

GREEN CARD CONCEPT REMAINS ELUSIVE

That said, Karel observes there is lack of understanding among the locals on the value and meaning of this green card and the rights it grants to the owner.

Having obtained a Chinese PR in 2010, he says theoretically, the card provides the holder with the right to set up a private business, register kids in school, and to pay the same education fees as the locals.

“But the reality is, foreigners do pay a significantly higher education fee in school, so the [green] card is not yet sufficiently well-known by the local Chinese,” Vits explains.

Karel Vits, who has been working in China for 20 years, says he was happy to have received his Chinese green card (in 2010), knowing how difficult it is to obtain the permit. /CGTN photo by cameraman Wang Jigang

Vits also shared his experience when renewing his driving license a few years ago. Despite being a Chinese PR, he was asked to submit his registration form of temporary residence.

He is married to a local Chinese and his son – who holds a Belgium passport just like Vits – was born and brought up in China. Vits has one concern about his son.

“Chinese is his mother tongue but he is today the only person in my family who still needs to apply for the visa. I wonder what do we need to do for him to get a PR?” Vits asks.

TO UNIFY, SIMPLIFY SYSTEM

As part of China’s continuous efforts to lure back talents, it had in January rolled out a new policy on overseas Chinese.

Effective February 2018, ethnic Chinese living overseas will be able to apply for a five-year, multiple-entry visa – from a previous maximum one-year period.

“If they reside in China for work or to study or family reunion, they can apply for a 5-year long-term resident permit,” says Cai Baodi, director at the Shanghai’s Entry and Exit Administration Bureau.

“We have about 180,000 foreigners residing here in Shanghai; 60-70 percent of them are overseas Chinese. This new policy can encourage them to come back to Shanghai to work, study or see their families,” Cai says.

Meanwhile, Cheng Jianping, chairperson of the University Council at Beijing Normal University, cites the Shanghai Zhangjiang National Innovation Demonstration Zone as a good example of attracting foreign talents, where the documentation process for expats is said to be easier than applying for a Chinese PR.

Cheng calls for two things going forward. Firstly, he says there should be different regulations for different industries.

“Secondly, there are too many departments and ministries managing this [foreigners’ green cards], so rules and regulations are not centralized. If China wants to be a great power in the next few years, this needs to be solved,” Cheng says.

Cheng Jianping says if one were to work long-term in China, he or she should be treated equally as citizens. /CGTN photo by cameraman Wang Jigang

Cheng, a member of China's top political advisory body, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), says that not only more green cards should be given to foreigners but those who already possess cards to be able to enjoy more rights.

And what about the issue of retaining these talents?

“Thus, it is particularly important to provide foreigners with a platform to work, learn, interact and grow,” he says.

As for Vits, he is grateful for having obtained his green card. He says one can’t deny China’s significance at the world stage.

“I think every foreign company that has growth ambitions; sooner or later it has to develop business relationships in China or with China. So, there is not any doubt in my mind that China, from a professional point of view, is probably one of the best places [to live and work] in the world.”