This document provides information about getting a job in China. It discusses the basic requirements, including having proficient English, professional skills in one's field of work, and some Chinese language ability. It also outlines the visa and tax processes for foreigners working in China. Common types of companies that hire foreigners are multinational firms and growing small-to-medium enterprises. Popular career areas include marketing, finance, IT, and legal services. The document also notes important aspects of living and working in China as a foreigner.

1. J a n W o s t y n , I n t e r n a t i o n a l R e l a t i o n s D i r e c t o r
How to get a job in China?
by Internship Network Asia

2. Overview
 Part I: Basic information about China
 Part II: Getting a job in China: how to get started?
 Part III: Requirements
 Part IV: Which kind of companies hire foreigners in China?
What kind of jobs?
 Part V: Life in China
 Q&A

3. Part I : Basic information about China
 Population
 Economy
 Politics
 Language

4. Population
 The world‟s most populous country at
1,343,239,923 people (2012 est.)
 Ethnic groups: Han versus minorities
 Han majority (91.5%)
 55 official minorities, a.o. Tibetan,
Uygur, Mongolian, …
 人山人海 “mountains and seas of
people”
 Ever heard of Wuhan, Chongqing or
Chengdu?
 Countless cities with more than 5 mio
people in the purely urban areas

5. Economic Miracle
 Market-oriented reforms initiated in 1978, start of the
biggest economic transformation in the history of mankind
 State maintains a very strong control over the economy
 All land is owned by the government
 Big state-owned companies in crucial sectors
 State favors its home-grown champions
 By 2020, the Chinese economy is expected to overtake the
USA as the biggest economy of the world
 Level of GDP per capita still less than 1/5th of the USA !
 Still 36% of people work in agriculture

6. Economic Challenges
 Transformation export-led and investment
driven economy to economy fueled by
domestic demand. Currently 54% of GDP is
investment
 Cooling inflation (at 5,4% in 2011) without
causing „hard landing‟
 Real Estate bubble?
 Corruption
 Rising income inequality
 Congestion and environmental pressure

7. Politics
 Communism? Capitalism? Socialism? Marxism? Pragmatism !
 Combination of market economy and socialism with „Chinese
characteristics‟
 CCP has monopoly on power since 1949
 From Maoist totalitarianism to intra-party „democracy‟
 Changing role of the press
 The internet and social media
 Facebook, Twitter and Youtube are blocked
 Fear of „Jasmin revolution‟ after Arab spring

8. Chinese Language
 One official standard language = Mandarin Chinese
 Several „regionalects‟, mostly in the South: Cantonese,
Shanghainese, Minnan, Xiang, etc…
 Mutually unintelligeable
 All Chinese use the same script, however
 Simplified characters in Mainland China
 „Traditional‟ characters in Taiwan, HK and Macao
 About 3000 characters needed to read newspapers

汉语 中文 普通话

9. Part II: How to find a job in China
 Getting started online
 Get personal connections to China
 Internships in China

10. Getting started online
 Chinese job sites
 www.51job.com (我要job) : English interface
 www.chinahr.com
 www.matchdragon.com
 City-based websites aimed at foreigners with classifieds
 www.thebeijinger.com
 www.cityweekend.com.cn (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou)
 Websites of Foreign chambers of commerce
 Subscribe to newsletters
 Look for job sections
 Multinational companies‟ websites

11. Get personal connections to China
 Search your LinkedIn network for contacts based in China, 1st or 2nd degree,
and ask for introductions
 Do you have any family contacts who have ever done business in China?
 Attend networking events related to China in your home country
 Local chambers of commerce
 China-related organizations
 Seminars about China
 China job fairs, e.g. SinoJobs in Germany
 Headhunter firms may help you get a job in China, but probably not your
first job
 Either China experience, outstanding Chinese language skills or very specific
expertise in a certain field will be required
 Not the appropriate channel for young job seekers, because firms simply don‟t
pay headhunter fees for entry level jobs

12. Internship in China
 Online job search can be challenging and frustrating because you are
like drop in the ocean
 Starting with an internship has several advantages:
 You get your first professional experience in China, which is crucial to
stand out from all the job seekers applying from abroad
 You get a chance to build up a local network with this first professional
identity.
 You get to figure out whether you like living in China or not
 You can acquire basic Mandarin skills on the side
 How to find an internship?
 Broad array of agencies with internship programs
 Placement only or package service?
 Internship tailored to your needs/interests?
 Look for the right price-quality ratio
 Look out for scams

13. Part III: Requirements
 Skill requirements
 Visa requirements
 Tax requirements
 Social security requirements

14. Skill requirements for jobs/internships
 Proficient business English
 Professional expertise and skills
 Bachelor degree is a minimum requirement
 Some previous working experience in your field as well
 For internships, these requirements usually don‟t exist
 Basic Mandarin skills
 No need to be an interpreter
 Basic knowledge will make you much more productive, especially in personal contacts with
Chinese colleagues or business contacts
 For internships, zero Mandarin skills are not an issue
 Interpersonal skills
 China‟s economic infrastructure is based on „guanxi‟ or „relations‟
 Good interpersonal skills are essential to maintain good relations with colleagues, clients,
suppliers, government officials, etc…
 This requires flexibility and patience and a willingness to engage in seemingly unproductive
activities such as lengthy dining, Karaoke or other activities which are aimed at
strengthening relations
 Intercultural skills
 Previous experience abroad will assure potential employers that you have some sensitivity to
intercultural differences
 Be aware of the indirect communication style in China

15. Visa requirements
 Internships: F-visa
 Need invitation letter from the company where you will intern
 Proof of accommodation in China
 Jobs: Z-visa
 Required documents:
 Medical examination certificate
 2 years of working experience with references
 CV in Chinese
 Diploma, translated in Chinese by official translation company
 Procedure (see http://www.china-embassy.org)
 Obtain a temporary Z-visa abroad with a “visa notification letter”, to
be converted into a long-term Z-visa within 30 days in China
 Some agencies also provide this service without having to leave China
in case you were in China already (e.g. at the end of an internship)

16. Tax requirements
 Income tax (IIT = Individual Income Tax)
 First 4800 CNY is exempted (approx. 750 USD)
 Monthly withholding system, salary to be filed before 15th of
the following month
 Yearly incomes above 120.000 CNY (+/- 19000 USD) also
need to file a yearly Individual Income Tax self-declaration
 Income tax calculator:
 http://www.sjgrand.cn/individual-income-tax-calculator
 An expat residing for 5 years in China, without more than a
1 month interruption will be taxed on worldwide income
 Expats therefore take a month sabbatical at least every 5
years…

17. Social Security for foreigners
 Internship:
 Get your own private medical and liability insurance at any major
insurance company (about 80-100 USD/month, depending on
coverage levels)
 Jobs:
 New Social Security law in effect since Oct 15th, 2011
 Increased burden on companies hiring foreigners, without much
benefit for foreigners
 Gross salary of 10.000 CNY/month implies cost of 14410 CNY/month
for your company and only 8664 CNY net for you
 You pay for a pension, but are only entitled to get it when you have
worked minimum 15 years in China, which is rather rare
 http://www.sjgrand.cn/individual-income-tax-calculator shows
overview of all components of the social security
 Unemployment benefits? Still to be seen how this will work !
 A very new evolution in China, will undoubtedly still further evolve

18. Part IV: what can you expect?
 What do foreigners generally do in China?
 What kind of companies hire foreigners in China?
 What kind of functional areas?
 Different modes of employment
 Salary expectations
 Life in China

19. Foreigners in China in 2010
 About 524.000 foreigners officially living in China in 2010
 But also 359 million non-worker arrivals every year !
 Mostly employed by foreign-funded enterprises
 Rather rare in Chinese state-owned enterprises
Source:
http://english.sina.com/z/20120516fo
reigner/index.shtml

20. What kind of companies hire foreigners?
 Foreign/International firms
 Multinationals
 Foreign employees are usually expats with experience within the firm
and having reached a higher management level
 Less active in local hiring of foreigners in China
 SMEs
 Often fast growing
 Quick decision making, less bureaucratic
 Very active on the „local foreigner market
 Chinese firms
 Globalizing Chinese firms , e.g. Lenovo, Hai‟er, Huawei, ZTE
 “Local” Chinese firms
 Chinese knowledge will be required
 Careful: are you not being used as the foreign face? Or is your job
nothing more than an in-company English teacher?

21. In what functional areas are foreigners
hired?
 Marketing and Sales
 More and more companies, both foreign and Chinese, are
targeting the local expat market, especially in Beijing or
Shanghai
 A foreign face with Mandarin skills is also becoming more
common to sell luxury to high end Chinese customers
 Finance, accounting, law
 With foreign firms massively investing in China, there is a big
need for foreign advice on financial, tax and legal issues
 IT
 Often smaller, locally founded companies providing various IT
services such as website building, SEO, IT infrastructure set-
up, programming tailor-made company software, etc…

22. What‟s life like in China for foreigners?
 Fun
 Safe
 Beijing/Shanghai versus 2nd tier cities: big difference
 “Laowai”
 Overwhelming
 Language
 Food
 Congestion
 Sometimes lost in translation

23. Lost in translation… Better learn Chinese !

24. About Internship Network Asia
Internship Network Asia was founded in 2008, was acquired by Hutong
School in June 2012 and now has the biggest network of partner
companies in Beijing and Shanghai. Together with Hutong School‟s far-
reaching expertise in internship placement in China, we are now one of
the leading providers of high quality internships in China.
Kick-Start Your Career – Intern in Beijing or Shanghai
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