Shanghai, for the sixth consecutive year, has topped the list of the most attractive Chinese mainland’s cities for foreigners, according to a ranking released at the weekend.
The “Charming China — the most attractive Chinese cities in the eyes of foreigners” ranking was launched in 2010 by the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs in Beijing.
It is the only ranking in China’s mainland that is voted completely by foreigners in four indexes: expat-friendly policies, governmental administrative capacity, and working and living environments.
“Shanghai is an amazing city for Chinese and non-Chinese residents alike. It displays a sincere appreciation for diversity in so many ways — architectural, linguistic, artistic, culinary, and academic,” said Vice Chancellor of New York University Shanghai Jeffrey Lehman, who has been named one of “The Most Influential Foreign Experts During 40 Years of China’s Reform and Opening-Up.”
“Here we find a cosmopolitan environment where a wide variety of ideas can interact with one another and create new approaches to achieving humanitarian objectives. It is a natural magnet for the curious, a natural bridge from China to the rest of the world,” Lehman said.
In specific, the ranking covers many things related to foreigners, such as recruitment policies, policies that guarantee their rights and interests, support for startups, the working environment, promotion opportunities, salary, governmental service quality, international and multicultural environments, inclusiveness, medical conditions, and the education environment for kids.
This year, the cities that made the top-10 list are: Shanghai, Beijing, Hefei, Qingdao, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Chengdu, Nanjing and Guangzhou.
This year’s ranking was released at the opening ceremony of the 16th Conference on the International Exchange of Professionals in Shenzhen on Saturday night.
A survey was conducted between November last year and February this year, which was completed by 30,000 foreign professionals throughout China via paper and online voting. A 68-member jury, including Nobel laureates, Chinese Friendship Award recipients, foreign scholars and scientists, selected for the Recruitment Program of Global Experts, also contributed their ideas to the survey.
Shanghai has been promoting institutional reform to implement a more active, open and effective policy to attract talent from all over the world. It has issued a series of policies to streamline procedures for foreigners to apply for visas, as well as work and residence permits.
There are 215,000 foreigners working or starting up businesses in Shanghai, accounting for 23.7 percent of the total in Chinese mainland. By the end of March, the city had 52 foreign experts who have won the Chinese government Friendship Award, and 1,145 high-level overseas professionals who have been selected into the national Recruitment Program of Global Experts, topping other areas in the country.
Shanghai, for the sixth consecutive year, has topped the list of the most attractive Chinese mainland’s cities for foreigners, according to a ranking released at the weekend.
It is the only ranking in China’s mainland that is voted completely by foreigners in four indexes: expat-friendly policies, governmental administrative capacity, and working and living environments.
“Here we find a cosmopolitan environment where a wide variety of ideas can interact with one another and create new approaches to achieving humanitarian objectives. It is a natural magnet for the curious, a natural bridge from China to the rest of the world,” Lehman said.
This year, the cities that made the top-10 list are: Shanghai, Beijing, Hefei, Qingdao, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Chengdu, Nanjing and Guangzhou.
A survey was conducted between November last year and February this year, which was completed by 30,000 foreign professionals throughout China via paper and online voting. A 68-member jury, including Nobel laureates, Chinese Friendship Award recipients, foreign scholars and scientists, selected for the Recruitment Program of Global Experts, also contributed their ideas to the survey.
