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【China Daily】SMEs investing overseas must find niche, experts say
A clear strategy and effective use of ’comparative advantages’ seen as the keys to surviving and thrivingWith private enterprises’ proportion of Chinese overseas investment on the rise, the key to small and medium-sized enterprises surviving and thriving abroad is to find their own development space, which might be a very tiny but differentiated market, experts say."Enterprises need to find their own comparative advantages," Gao Zhendong, CEO of Positec Group, a private company that develops and produces mechanical products, tells China Daily on the sidelines of the fourth China Outbound Forum in Sanya, Hainan province.Mou Gang, chairman of Lifan Industry Group, a leading Chinese automaker, says that when they have gained a foothold, "SMEs can invest all they have to make this (market entry) crack become a whole large market.Representatives of small and medium-sized private enterprises attend the fourth China Outbound Forum in Sanya, Hainan province. Provided to China Daily"Once they get into the market and earn experience and money, they are starting a virtuous circle," adds Mou, who also attended the forum, held on Nov 17 and 18.However, SMEs should have a proper strategy and access to resources, Gao says."We have a large number of SMEs, but it must be clear that only those that have clear strategic plans and considerable abilities in financing, resources, technologies and management should think of going out. When a business is having difficulty surviving in the domestic market, it will be very difficult to go abroad."According to a report released recently by the Center for China and Globalization, a Beijing-based think tank that co-organized the Sanya forum, investment cases led by private enterprises rose to 395 in 2016, although the total amount of overseas investment by private enterprises declined slightly from 2015.Small and medium-sized private enterprises are especially willing to seek opportunities in countries participating in the China-led Belt and Road Initiative, the report said.Private enterprises also stood out in overseas mergers and acquisitions. According to a recent PwC report, the number of concluded transactions reached 359 in the first three quarters of this year - almost five times the number of those led by State-owned enterprises.Although private enterprises and SOEs have different areas of focus when investing overseas - SOEs tackle large infrastructure projects, while private enterprises generally take on smaller projects - "they can cooperate at the same time," says Mou.Huo Jianguo, executive vice-chairman of the China Society for World Trade Organization Studies, says private enterprises are more cautious regarding spending versus earning before they invest in overseas projects. Thus, they can to some extent take on some of the risks that State-owned enterprises now bear, Huo adds.State-owned enterprises, on the other hand, have vast resources and policy support and therefore play a leading role in achieving infrastructure connectivity, one of the five goals of the Belt and Road Initiative, says Huo on the sidelines of the forum.Gao, the Positec CEO, says: "I don’t like to overemphasize the different roles of the two kinds of companies. (But) projects that require a large amount of funds and resources, such as infrastructure construction, need SOEs to play a leading role."Huo says SMEs have their own specialties in dealing with overseas investment, and private enterprises are more suitable for in-depth cooperation."The involvement of private companies will make the future development of the (Belt and Road Initiative) more sustainable, since they will undertake those trading and investment projects that they can achieve by themselves" without government financial assistance, he says.For example, Huo says, although SMEs might not have been able to compete with SOEs on the construction of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway in Africa, since they did not have sufficient funds and resources, the smaller enterprises nonetheless had advantages for complementary projects that accompanied the construction, such as providing catering services and accommodations for the project workers.Mou says private enterprises also have the advantage of a decisionmaking structure that is generally more efficient, flexible and adventurous than that of SOEs.Nonetheless, access to financing can pose a huge hurdle for small to medium-sized enterprises looking overseas, the experts agreed.Countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative are mostly in the initial stages of industrialization, so their financial markets are relatively unstable, says Huo.Additionally, resources from the governments are limited; it is difficult for commercial funds to give sufficient support to risky investment projects; and multilateral development banks, such as the Asian Development Bank, mostly provide services for large SOEs, Huo adds.And because commercial banks have few overseas branches, it is difficult to find real-time banking services, including overseas currency clearing and exchange, resulting in financing channels that are costly but not smooth, Huo says.SMEs do indeed have a hard time acquiring financing or loan approval from banks, according to a survey conducted by the China Association of Small and Medium Commercial Enterprises. The survey found that more than 95 percent of SMEs face serious funding shortages, and 65 percent find it difficult to get financing because of credit problems.Fortunately, Huo says, the number of investment funds specifically for SMEs that invest overseas is increasing, and although the amount of money is not yet large, it’s a useful alternative.Another solution, Huo says, is that SMEs can join forces on the development of industrial parks. "They don’t need to invest individually. Instead, they can band together."For example, in 2006, a cluster-type investment platform for enterprises, Cambodia’s Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone, began to work as a bridge between enterprises in China and Cambodia, a key country on the route of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road - one component of the Belt and Road Initiative. The park, built by four private Chinese enterprises, has become the leading international industrial park over the past decade.By the end of 2016, Chinese enterprises had established 77 industrial parks in 36 countries, with 56 located in countries along the Belt and Road routes, according to the report by the Center for China and Globalization."Only when the number of projects that SMEs are involved in increases will we find the demand for financing cooperation going up," Huo says. "Once the financing part steps in, it will attract more trade, more big projects and more communication and cultural exchanges."Besides the technology and management experiences that SMEs bring to overseas markets, their decision-makers must consider establishing roots in these countries, experts say.Huo says that as Chinese enterprises invest in Belt and Road projects, they must provide Chinese who work on the projects with room and board, and possibly an environment imbued with Chinese culture.However, he says, for the projects themselves, "enterprises must pay attention to downplaying the Chinese elements. It should be a natural process of Chinese elements expanding their influence, instead of thousands of Chinese-style buildings. It is actually a win-win solution for the buildings to accommodate the local style as well as for people to operate the business in local ways, to solve local employment problems and pay local taxes."Mou suggests that enterprises get to know the local cultural and environment well, and says they should localize their products, systems and corporate culture. It isn’t possible to completely bring Chinese management theories and patterns into the projects, Mou adds.Gao says the key is for such enterprises to play to their own strengths. "The enterprises still have to find their own comparative advantages, instead of simply going overseas because they are encouraged to."Previously, when there were no funds and resources available, the enterprises still survived and grew. Now the current situation is much better than before, so I believe those SMEs have the ability to find their own development path in foreign lands," Gao says.From China Daily, Dec. 6, 2017
2017年12月12日 -
智联招聘CEO郭盛：“柔性”的组织在人工智能时代更容易成功
理事简介郭盛，全球化智库（CCG）常务理事，智联招聘CEO。2017年12月7日，“数字驱动，智造未来”2017中国年度最佳雇主颁奖盛典暨人力资源国际管理论坛在杭州城中香格里拉大酒店举行。智联招聘CEO郭盛发表了题为《数字驱动，智造未来》的演讲，作为人力资源专家，针对人们面对人工智能的焦虑甚至是恐惧，他就人工智能将如何作用于职场并将与人类劳动者形成怎样的关系做了深度阐释。智联招聘CEO郭盛发表演讲智联招聘CEO郭盛表示：“2016年是人工智能元年，2017年它就在我们身边，到2050年，人工智能产业规模或将相当于再造一个互联网行业。” 面对人工智能无需恐惧随着数据空前丰富和普及、算法的巨大进步以及计算能力的大大提高这三个趋势，人工智能已经声势浩大的来到我们实际的生产中了。与以往的工业革命不同，以往的技术只是取代了人的身体，而同样富有智慧的人工智能却对脑力劳动者也形成了威胁，这也是引发全民焦虑的一个重要原因。郭盛表示：“大多数场景下，人工智能可以取代一部分可预测的体力工作，而大多数工作体现为人机互动、人机共存的情况。从人工智能的角度来说，大家可以焦虑，但是不用恐惧。物理性的工作被取代的可能性高，但是需要沟通、交流、感知、提炼等富有创造性、情感性的工作，人工智能都完全没有办法取代。” AI时代最重要的不是智能，而是人工伴随着个体劳动者的技能迭代焦虑，人工智能已经实实在在的推动了经济的发展，很多企业更是以人工智能为基础进行创业。在过去的两年，人工智能领域新增企业数量超过过去10年的总和。国务院印发的《新一代人工智能发展规划》预测2020年，人工智能总体技术和应用与世界先进水平同步，预计核心产业规模达1500亿，相关产业规模达1万亿。然而，技术发展的背后，是一个个具体的科技型、知识型的人才在驱动。郭盛表示，“我们和很多企业做过沟通，其实人工智能时代最重要的不是智能，而是人工，是能够把这些数据找出来的人，是能够把这些算法做出来的人，是能够把这些计算能力提高的人。”通过智联招聘《2017人工智能就业市场供需与发展研究报告》的数据也可以看到，企业求才若渴，世界需要人工智能，更需要人工智能的驾驭者——AI人才。从2016年开始，人工智能人才的需求量增长了近2倍之多。人才需求量的增长幅度均已超过全国平均。 劳动力市场重构，职场变成“智造场”“技术”在2017年实现了爆发，也在重构着商业、企业、组织和个人。人工智能的基因和血液在不同个体上都形成了不同程度的渗透。郭盛认为，在经济状况良好，且社会稳定的当今中国，技术就像一匹黑马，凭借爆发性和不确定性不断冲击劳动力和就业市场。从宏观上看，据麦肯锡提供的数据显示，中国可实现自动化的工作薪酬规模涉及4.1万亿、工作岗位约3.94亿。智联招聘大数据显示，校对、录入这一岗位，连续三个季度出现大幅的同比负增长。在旧的岗位被取代的同时，新的岗位也被产生，智联招聘大数据显示，数据库开发工程师、算法工程师的需求量持续增长。同时人工智能让就业时间、就业空间变得更加弹性和灵活，智联招聘发现自由职业者、兼职就业者的数量不断增加，从2015年到2017年两年时间内，兼职人群增长了321%。这是不可阻挡的趋势，正式的组织架构正在受到灵活就业的冲击，劳动合同对员工的约束在降低。技术实现的趋势对企业组织产生了巨大的影响，它会让组织的边界越来越模糊，形成了以共同目标为导向的内外部通无界的灵活合作模式。其次，组织的文化体系也摆脱了旧时命令式的管理模式，演变成心智互动式组织。伴随经济乐观和社会稳定，员工也有了更高的精神追求，不再将获得聚焦在薪酬福利上，更多的体现为追求自我实现的成就感。而面对技能迭代焦虑，员工追求加快新陈代谢的成长速度，企业也逐渐演变成让所有员工互相分享知识，一同成长的智慧平台。智能时代的最佳雇主，整体呈现出不同程度的 “智造场”特征。榜单也呈现出“新城市、新技术、新资本”的结构特点。具体表现在获奖企业中，在地域维度上，新一线城市潜力也已经初步显露；行业维度上，IT/ 通信/ 电子/ 互联网行业作为智能科技渗透最深的行业在30强榜单中占据30%；企业性质维度上，上市公司成为最大赢家，占比40%。今年的获奖企业呈现出不一样的特质，郭盛表示：“在以往的榜单中，很多组织往往呈现出狼性，但今天更多的是柔性企业。它有理想，能兼容并蓄，富有包容性。这些企业女性比例比男性更高，且拥有广阔的工作空间。很多企业里柔性取代了狼性，柔性的企业更容易成功，因为它们在新环境下更容易成长。”最后，郭盛再次寄语人工智能焦虑人群：“物竞天择的进化论同样适用于职场，技能的落后注定被淘汰，希望大家做好基因迭代，把过去的基因扔掉，建立更完善的基因，让每个人成为更好的人，每个企业都成为伟大的公司。”文章选自哈佛商业评论，2017年12月9日
2017年12月12日 -
张燕生：以政党相通推动民心相通
专家简介张燕生，全球化智库（CCG）学术委员会专家，中国国际经济交流中心首席研究员。 “今天与会的政党代表来自‘一带一路’沿线及相关的50多个国家，无论党派的规模大小，无论是否是所在国家的执政党，都为着一个共同的目标——推动‘一带一路’建设聚集于此。”12月3日下午，中国国际经济交流中心首席研究员张燕生在参加“共建‘一带一路’：政党的参与和贡献”分组专题会议期间，接受本报记者专访时开宗明义，阐明了此次专题会议作为中国共产党与世界政党高层对话会分组会议之一的出发点。 张燕生表示，每一个政党在所在国家有着不同程度的代表性，或代表着不同的阶层，或代表着不同的政治观点，因此中国共产党与这些政党的沟通交流其实就是与他们所在国家的不同群体之间的沟通交流。 “一带一路”建设的关键在于“共商共建共享”，在这个过程中，互信理解是前提条件。“任何新事物的推进都不会是一帆风顺的，‘一带一路’倡议也是如此，政党在其中的引领作用就尤为重要。”张燕生认为，政党成员作为所代表集体的先锋，应当责无旁贷承担起加强交流与合作的责任。“只有沟通才能消弭误解，只有理解才能携手同行，这既是各国政党共同的心愿，同时也对政党成员提出了更高的要求。” 政党相通推动民心相通。张燕生说，在逆全球化、贸易保护主义抬头的同时，“一带一路”框架下的项目正在稳步推进，这其中正是由于很多政党在自己的国家做了积极有益的工作，为项目合作从高层意向，到真正落地成为当地人民心目中的“民心工程”作出了贡献。很多中国企业在参加国外“一带一路”项目建设过程中，欣喜地看到当地民众踊跃报名成为项目的雇员，甚至还有民众自发组成护卫队，守护项目的安全运行。“政党凝聚了民众力量，民众力量又再次推动政党建设走上新台阶，这是‘一带一路’倡议希望看到的美好图景。” 谈到“一带一路”的未来发展，张燕生表示，从经济学的角度看，全球虽然整体经济复苏乏力，但产能上的合作恰恰是处于机遇期。对于沿线国家来说，很多国家急需基础设施建设，而中国等国家又需要解决产能过剩的问题，两者互补双赢，是绝佳的合作契机。“今天的会议上，很多来自沿线国家政党的代表都表示欢迎拥有产能优势的国家前往投资，并表示基础设施的完善是国家发展的基石。”张燕生感慨道，这说明“要致富，先修路”的中国发展理念，已经成为很多国家的共识。 最后，张燕生谈到，中国经历了从一穷二白开始的艰辛发展之路，所以更明白众人拾柴火焰高的道理。“一带一路”倡议旨在加强交流与合作，共同发展，而绝不是中国一家唱“独角戏”。独乐乐不如众乐乐，和而不同，在符合各国国情的基础上互相借鉴经验，才能共同学习、共同进步。张燕生认为，这次会议的成功举办，将引领各国政党参与“一带一路”建设走上新征程。文章选自《光明日报》，2017年12月5日
2017年12月12日 -
【China Daily】’Digital silk road’ expected to link world
China is committed to the development of a digital silk road that would transform links between countries, according to a government official."We will actively promote the digital silk road to construct a community of common destiny in cyberspace," Chen Zhaoxiong, vice-minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, told a forum on the "digital silk road" at the 4th World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province."In the era of economic globalization, the Chinese info-communications industry will not only pay attention to our own development, but also other countries across the world," Chen said.Lin Nianxiu, vice-minister in the National Development and Reform Commission, told the forum that China, whose digital economy grew by 18.9 percent last year to contribute 22.6 trillion yuan ($3.41 trillion; 2.9 trillion euros; ￡2.6 trillion) to China’s economy, according to official data, was interested not just in what happens within its borders."As both a practitioner and beneficiary of the digital economy, China is willing to deepen and widen coordination and cooperation with countries around the world to benefit people," Lin said.The forum, International Cooperation Along the "Digital Silk Road", was also addressed by the former prime minister of France, Dominique de Villepin, who said he welcomed China’s moves to create a digital silk road.He said it was important that more countries gain good digital access, or else it would become a source of greater inequality in the world, adding that while digital penetration was 80 percent in the West and parts of Asia, this was not the case everywhere."First, we have regional inequalities in Africa and South Asia, where internet penetration is still under 30 percent, and then you have country examples, like in Chad and Niger, where it is less than 5 percent."He said China had a big role to play in addressing this inequality, since Chinese companies have begun to dominate the global digital economy."It has been a major turning point. There has been a technological shift from West to East with the rise of internet champions in China as an alternative to the US monopoly."It has also been a turning point with, for the first time in history, more than half of the global population now online, against less than 20 percent only 10 years ago."Wang Huiyao, founder and president of the Beijing-based independent think tank Center for China and Globalization(CCG) and also a counselor to the State Council, China’s Cabinet, said the advantage of digital over physical infrastructure is that it can be put in place much more rapidly."It is not easy to build a supercontinental railway, but you can put digital infrastructure in much quicker," he said. "It is also more likely to produce commercial returns. If you put high-speed rail through Central Asia, you might find that no one wants to ride on it."Tatjana Matic, state secretary of the Serbian Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications, said her country was keen to cooperate with China in a number of digital areas."We share the desire in an internet society to continue joint activities and to implement our memoranda on digital progress," she said. "We have already exchanged and will continue to do exchanges on activities relating to e-commerce platforms, market information and cooperation in the domain of smart cities development."Chen from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said his focus was on international cooperation such as with Kazakhstan, Turkey and Poland, and also on building an information highway between China and Africa.He said China had made breakthroughs in a number of telecommunications areas, and the country’s strength in telecommunications has seen the pioneering of bike-sharing payments through smartphones."In the future, we can cooperate to make technological breakthroughs in things including 4G and 5G, artificial intelligence, industrial internet, cloud computing and big data," he added.From China Daily，2017-12-8
2017年12月12日 -
【深圳侨报】中国“绿卡”便利化改革广纳天下英才
中国“绿卡”，即外国人永久居留证，曾被称为世界上最难拿的“绿卡”之一。近年来，中国“绿卡”政策改革不断深入，申请更简便易行，含金量大幅提升，外籍华人也因此受益。 1985年，全国人大常委会通过《中华人民共和国外国人入境出境管理法》。1986年，中国第一个外籍厂长、德国专家格里西成为首位获得永久居留资格的外国人。2004年，《外国人在中国永久居留审批管理办法》出台，中国“绿卡”在制度层面有了实施细则。曾在延安与中国人民共同迎来抗战胜利的美国农业专家寒春，是获得中国“绿卡”第一人。 根据公开信息梳理，自2004年中国实施“绿卡”制度以来至2013年，获得中国“绿卡”的外国人总数仅为7356人。而全球化智库（CCG）发布的《中国国际移民报告(2015)》显示，截至2013年，有84.85万外籍人员在中国居住。 较高的申请门槛，较长的审批周期，以及实际应用中较低的认可程度，中国“绿卡”似乎不那么便利。 2013年中国开始放宽外籍人员来华政策，出台了《外籍高层次人才来华提供签证及居留便利有关问题的通知》，对于无法在中国申请“绿卡”的人员，可办理2至5年有效的外国人居留证件。 到了2015年，上海、北京、广州、福建开始了新一轮“绿卡”制度改革，如北京中关村示范区出入境20条、上海科创中心出入境政策“新十条”、广东自贸区16项出入境措施等。其他省市如天津、辽宁、浙江、湖北等地的自贸区及全面创新改革示范区，也就京、沪、粤试点经验进行推广复制。 其中，外籍华人获得专属条款，为其归国创新创业提供了突破性的出入境和永久居留便利。如北京、上海对具有博士学历的外籍华人提供永久居留渠道，广东对广东籍外籍华人提供5年多次出入境签证等。 此后一年，中国“绿卡”获得人数大幅提高。公开数据显示，2016年公安部批准1576人获得中国“绿卡”，和2015年相比增加了163%。截至2016年，中国“绿卡”获得者人数破万。 从2017年6月16日起，公安部签发新版中国“绿卡”，将原有的“外国人永久居留证”更名为“外国人永久居留身份证”，凸显身份证明功能。 “新的外国人身份证，让我觉得和中国人一样生活在这里。”美籍教授柯道友回忆他2010年办中国“绿卡”的经历时不无感慨。“当时花了3年时间，提供了一百多页资料，从民政局、大使馆、公安部，到街道办派出所、居委会，往返美国多次，盖了近百个章，才办下来。” 而现在，“从提交材料到缴费成功，一共只用了一小时，50个工作日之后就能拿到了。”在俄罗斯亚洲工业企业家联合会中国代表处工作的外籍华人刘维宁说，新版身份证让他的出行和生活更便利。 中国人才研究会副会长沈荣华说，从一系列新政策的发布可以看出，中国的“绿卡”政策正以更为开放、积极、包容的态度逐渐完善，这有利于国家的人才引进、贸易流通和资源分享。 中国“绿卡”对包括外籍华人在内的海外人士意义非常，持续推进的中国“绿卡”便利化改革，显示出中国政府提出的“广纳天下英才”正在进入实施层面。文章选自《深圳侨报》，2017年12月11日
2017年12月12日 -
【South China Morning Post】Trade surplus with U.s. nears record
China’s trade surplus with the US widened to the second highest total on record, according to Chinese customs data released on last Friday.The trade gap between the world’s two largest economies has been a frequent cause of complaint for US President Donald Trump, who visited China last month.The surplus recorded in the first 11 months of this year has already surpassed the total for the whole of 2016, according to the data released from China’s General Administration of Customs.November’s trade gap rose to US$27.9 billion, up from US$26.6 billion the previous month, and was just shy of the record US$28.1 billion recorded in September.China’s data was released at time when Washington is stepping up its pressure on Beijing to narrow the trade gap.The US last week told the World Trade Organisation it opposed giving China market economy status, a move that will make Chinese products more vulnerable in anti-dumping cases.The US has also launched an anti-dumping investigation into Chinese aluminium – the first time the US has taken such an action against a trading partner since 1991.Trump claimed he would implement a variety of measures against Chinese imports during his election campaign, including threats to label China as a currency manipulator and impose blanket tariffs over Chinese products. Few of the threats materialised after he entered the White House.Instead, China and US start a 100-day process to address the trade imbalance after Trump met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Florida in April, and Beijing promised to buy more from the US.During Trump’s visit to Beijing last month, he and Xi witnessed a signing ceremony for deals with a combined price tag of US$253 billion.According to Beijing’s account books, China’s trade surplus with US in the first 11 months of this year reached US$251.3 billion, compared with US$250.7 billion in the whole of 2016.The US side’s estimate of trade gap with China is higher than Beijing’s, although it has yet to release its figures for the past month. The US calculates its trade deficit with China was US$347 billion for 2016.Louis Kuijs, head of Asia Economics at Oxford Economics in Hong Kong, wrote in a briefing note that US data indicated its trade deficit with China would rise to US$370 billion this year.As a result, China’s “continued strength in exports to the US may add to US-China trade tensions” and post downside risks to China’s overall export performance in 2018, Kuijs noted.China’s customs data showed its overall trade surplus in November was US$40.2 billion, bringing the total for the year so far to US$376 billion.Ni Feng, deputy director of the Institute of American Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Trump was less concerned about geopolitics or ideology than many of his predecessors.“He pays more attention to gaining economic benefits, which will be the major challenge for China,” he told a symposium organised by the Centre for China and Globalisation (CCG) in Beijing on Thursday.Julian Evans-Pritchard, an economist for Capital Economics in Singapore, warned of more friction between the world’s two largest economies next year as Trump’s priority shifted towards foreign policy.“Particularly in the run-up to the mid-term US elections, Trump will re-appeal to his base, which probably means taking tough action on China.”From South China Morning Post，2017-12-8
2017年12月12日 -
【Global Times】China increasingly attractive to foreign professionals
Aden de Leeuw, a second-year student at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China in Zhejiang Province, talks with an HR representative during the Fourth Career Fair for International Students in China in Beijing in October. International students from 30 Chinese universities attended the event. Photo: Li Hao/GTIt took Nikita Ermakov, a second-year Russian student at Peking University’s Yenching Academy, four months of job hunting and many interviews before he finally got an offer from the HNA Group, a Chinese conglomerate on the Fortune 500 list. He is currently negotiating the offer with them, and hopefully, he will start the job after graduation.Ermakov, 25, got his bachelor’s degree at a university in South Korea and a master’s in Russia before coming to China. He has three years of work experience from his time in South Korea and Russia and can speak four languages: English, Korean, Russian and Chinese."China has become the new US, a new land of opportunities," he said. "The US is a country of immigrants, but it is already a developed country. With President Trump’s new policies, the country has become stricter with visa and immigration regulations. China is still developing; it has a huge market." Ermakov is just one of many foreign talents who choose to come to China for career development. According to the HSBC’s 2017 Expat Explorer Global Report in October, a move to China offers expats numerous career and income advantages. The report showed that China, as one of the world’s economic powerhouses, now comes in second in HSBC’s global rankings for career progression. A total of 70 percent of the 27,500 expats surveyed said the Chinese mainland offers strong job prospects compared with only 54 percent globally and 48 percent in Eastern Asia, a 16 percent increase over last year’s figures. Half of the surveyed expats on the Chinese mainland said they have more opportunities to acquire new skills here than at home, and they earn significantly more than the average expat - typically around $171,000 annually compared with $100,000 globally and $115,000 regionally, according to the report. Wang Huiyao, founder and president of the Center for China and Globalization (CCG), said China is now involved in "global talent circulation." "There is a new trend in which more foreign talents will go to China to develop their career in the next decade or two. China’s international talent competitiveness is growing," he said.China is now second in HSBC’s global rankings for career progression. Photo: Li Hao/GTHot areas for foreign professionals According to the HSBC report, the top three employment sectors are the education, service, and financial services sectors, which account for 31, 17 and 9 percent of the employment market respectively. The service industry includes hospitality, travel and leisure, tourism and customer service.Ermakov thinks that foreigners, especially recent graduates and young specialists, face fierce competition from Chinese professionals. But as the HSBC report showed, the education, services and finance industries require the highest level of qualifications, so foreign talents can still compete with domestic specialists. "In spite of the fact that foreigners have lower language skills, lack connections and have a limited knowledge of the market, they have comparative advantages: international networking experience, mobility, knowledge of specific business cultures, foreign languages or business English, special areas of expertise and so on," he said.Eric Tarchoune, founder and managing director of the Dragonfly Group, an HR consulting firm in China, said foreigners who have competencies in big data, artificial intelligence, digital marketing, research and development, knowledge management, brand management, and smart data analysis are in greater demand. They have years of work experience and can bring innovative and different ways of working to their job in China, he explained. Hays, a British recruitment company with offices in China, said the industries on the Chinese mainland that offer good job prospects for foreigners include science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), the Internet, e-commerce and digital technology, and medical care in its December 5 release on the top 10 recruiting tendencies on the Chinese mainland in 2018."Candidates with well-developed soft skills and technical or product knowledge in their area of expertise are also in high demand for these roles and are well positioned to command the most attractive remuneration packages in the coming months," said Simon Lance, managing director of Hays China.Attracting high-end talentNational initiatives such as the Belt and Road initiative and national technology projects are attracting more high-end foreign professionals.Jurriaan Meyer, a 52-year-old man from the Netherlands, recently resigned from his post as Asia Pacific director at an international software company in Beijing to work as the general manager of Shandong SRCC Rail Transit Technology, a new Jinan-based company that does innovative propulsion systems for both the local and international markets. Meyer has been in China for over 15 years. "This project is part of the Belt and Road initiative and is supported by the governments of Shandong and the Netherlands," said Meyer. "Jinan wants to build a local rail industry, and SRCC will be one of the first companies to contribute to this plan with local assembly facilities. If we succeed, this project could truly be the crown of my career in China."A new work permit system was implemented across China on April 1. Under the new system, foreigners fall into the categories of A, B or C based on their educational background, qualifications and work experience. The policy, which was launched by the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs, shows that China wants more high- and mid-level foreign talents. According to Shanghai-based newspaper Jiefang Daily, Ben Feringa, the winner of the 2016 Nobel Prize in chemistry and Kurt Wüthrich, winner of the 2002 Nobel Prize in chemistry, are expected to obtain a Chinese green card in December. Meyer also applied for a Chinese permanent residence card last year, which is expected to be granted to him in 2018."I think China is right to attract foreign talent while focusing on high quality," said Meyer.Meyer thinks that compared with big cities like Shanghai and Beijing, where the living costs are becoming excruciatingly expensive, second- and third-tier cities also offer a lot of opportunities these days. "Facilities in China are very good these days. The transportation infrastructure is awesome, and the Chinese people and companies are usually very supportive and go to great lengths to accommodate foreign talent," he said. A new generation of expatsMadeleine, a 21-year-old woman from Indonesia, works as an event manager for jingjobs.com, a Beijing-based startup recruitment company. She came to Beijing in 2013 and studied marketing for four years at the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE). She also does public relations for Global Foundation of Young Entrepreneurs (GFYE) at UIBE. "Startup environments attract me a lot, as they are very challenging and give me the opportunity to learn every single day," said Madeleine. She started building her career here in 2016 by taking different internships and part-time jobs and has built her network from hundreds to thousands within a year. Running events with NGOs and big job fairs, and meeting inspiring people are just some of her memorable experiences so far. Madeleine thinks there is a bright future for bilingual professionals who speak Chinese and are passionate about China, its fast economic growth, growing advanced technology and diversity."Nowadays, employers and companies are hiring younger professionals because they’re known to be very tech savvy, entrepreneurial, adventurous and very talented overall," she said.Meyer agrees. "I think a new generation of expats is coming who are younger and better prepared for China. Most speak Chinese, which is a great development," said Meyer, who passed HSK 5. He explained that the new generation of candidates compromises millennials, those who are born after 1990, and Generation X or those who are born after 2000. They are coming to China to study and then work. They learn Chinese at an early age and mix with the younger generation in China, he said."They are very well integrated into the culture and business environment and are of great value to China and their home countries," he said. "China is making a smart move by inviting many young people from abroad to study in China. This helps groom a pool of future ’ambassadors for China’ who can help develop understanding and cooperation to the benefit of China and its counterparts abroad."How to grasp the opportunities? Meyer finds that after coming to China to work, he has learned much more and is earning more as well. He said that while China is developing fast and Chinese graduates and professionals are catching up quickly, some high-level foreign workers are still sought after for their unique combination of academic, professional and soft skills and language abilities. "Soft skills and foreign languages are a weak spot for some Chinese candidates, particularly those outside of the big cities, so there are opportunities for those who can help bridge the gap between China and the world," he said.He thinks that to be successful in China, one needs many skills, such as in-depth experience in their related field of work. He said recent graduates from abroad would have a hard time finding a job in China, as many graduates from China or Chinese returning from overseas are stiff competition. Intercultural skills are also needed. Meyer said an excellent command of the Chinese language and an understanding of the business culture must be brought to the table. Flexibility and an innovative mind comprise the third and final essential factor. "China will develop more and more, and the labor market will be even more competitive even for the most skilled talent from abroad. However, some very good ones will always be required and welcome if only to help China succeed on the world stage, away from the familiar home markets in China," he said.Nicolas Fusier, operations director of Dragonfly Group, said more and more Chinese companies that are going global recruit foreigners to develop in the North American and European markets. He said for these specific jobs, it’s definitely an advantage to be a foreigner because they know the culture and have their network.However, Madeleine thinks that despite the good prospects, getting a work visa still poses a challenge. "Be ready for the long process of applying for a work visa. It is sad because I have seen and met hundreds of young talent who did not get the work visa but are actually very enthusiastic and passionate," she said. Fusier sees things differently."It takes time to get a visa, but I think the most important thing when it comes to attracting high-quality foreign talent is to offer them interesting and innovating challenges while working here in China," he said. From Global Times，2017-12-10
2017年12月12日