China aims to create more than 50 million new jobs in urban areas by 2020. The target was outlined in an employment promotion plan released by the State Council on Monday. The document also highlights key opportunities and challenges in promoting employment in this period.

Creating 50 million new jobs in an increasingly tougher economic climate won't be an easy task. But the people behind the employment promotion plan believe they have found the right recipe to produce results. According to the plan, China will provide preferential policies and job training programs to targeted groups in order to produce the new jobs by 2020, and in the meantime, keep the national unemployment rate below five percent each year. 

Two examples of targeted groups are new college graduates and workers laid off due to overcapacity. According to the guidelines, preferential policies for graduates include tax cuts and reductions in tuition fees if they are willing to work in some of China's more remote rural areas where well-educated young talent is always in short supply. The central government will also launch special programs to help laid-off workers gain new skills and relocate to new, emerging industries.

An estimated 7.95 million new college graduates and one million unemployed workers in industries with overcapacity will be generated each year. Meanwhile, an estimated 4.8 million job openings are expected to be created due to workers going into retirement each year. Addressing that gap will be one of the key challenges for the Chinese government in the coming years. 

Meanwhile, this is good news for foreign nationals looking to start a career in the world’s second largest economy. Several Chinese ministries recently announced a relaxation on work permit restrictions for foreign graduates of masters degree programs both in China and abroad. 

Previously, two years of relevant working experience outside of China was a requirement, which has made it nearly impossible for fresh graduates to seek legal employment in China, even if they graduated from Chinese universities. 

Here are some of the key eligibility requirements under the new policy:  

Now, here's a look at how the situation in China is in a global context. While the global average ratio of legal migrant workers is around three percent, China's expat population is only 0.4 percent. Hopefully, with new policies like this one, we'll see China's workforce becoming more and more international and dynamic in the long term.