I HAVE A QUESTION: Can China attract world-class talent?John Robert Rowland is a US citizen who has been living in Shanghai for 6 years and wants to make China his new home. Some 7,356 foreigners obtained Chinese permanent residence status between 2004, when the country first issued the permit, and 2013, a mere 1 percent of the reportedly over 600,000 foreigners living in the country during that period.