http://www.bjreview.com APRIL 20, 2017 BEIJING REVIEW 31
Copyedited by Bryan Michael Galvan
Comments to [email protected]one year of graduation.
To get the one-year work visa, they need
to get a job with a Chinese company in an
area matching their degree and coming with
a salary meeting market standards. Also,
their expertise must meet the local demand
for skills. In addition, they should be over 18
and have no criminal record.
Earlier, international students in China
and students with foreign degrees needed
to have a minimum of two yearsí experience
working outside China.
The new measure comes after trend-
setter Shanghai began allowing overseas
students who had postgraduated from
universities in Shanghai to apply for employ-
ment visas and residence permits without
needing two yearsí work experience from
May 1, 2016.
ìThis policy change is a recognition that
if China wants to expand its international
higher education capacity further, it must
leverage the attractiveness of its massive,
globalized employment market among for-
eign students seeking to start careers,î Eric
Skuse, research manager at Shanghai-based
market intelligence company Emerging
Strategy, told The Pie News, an online busi-
ness analysis provider for
professionals in international
education.
Analysts say the policy
would also see more interna-
tional students heading for
Chinese universities. In 2015,
there were 390,000 inter-
national students in China,
according to the Ministry of
Education.
The policy relaxation
was received by Rocky, a
Cameroonian student at
Huzhou University in Zhejiang
Provinceówho has given
himself the nickname to spare
his Chinese acquaintances the
difficulty of pronouncing his
nameówith mixed feelings.
Rocky is happy for himself
since he has been teaching
Chinese youngsters between
the ages of 2 and 6 years old
English during college breaks
and wants to stay on after he
finishes his studies to teach
full-time.
But the 28-year-old is sad
on account of a friend who
applied last year for a job look-
ing specifically for French-
speaking Africans but was rejected because
she did not have the two yearsí work experi-
ence required at that time. ìShe missed it by
months,î Rocky said dolefully. But then his
face brightened up. ìI must call her and tell
her to apply again,î he said excitedly.Challenges
But working in China is still not going to be
entirely a bed of roses for foreign graduates
because the relaxed policy will mean more
competition as wellófrom Chinese students.
This is also going to be an attractive tool for
China to stop its brain drain. The government
has been seeking to attract Chinese students
who go abroad for education to return home
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has been producing results. In 2015, according
to the Ministry of Education, 409,100 students
returned from overseas studies, indicating a
12-percent increase on 2014.
ìTheir major competitors will be Chinese
overseas returnees who are bilingual or even
trilingual, so language is a key. If they want to
get a job, they have to speak good Chinese,î
Jill Tang, founder of CareerXFactor, a compa-
ny recruiting graduates with foreign degrees,
told The Pie News. ìThis policy might evenencourage the first generation of Chinese
migrants who moved overseas to send their
kids back to China for studying and working.î
Besides jobs, the government is also
encouraging foreigners to undertake entre-
preneurial enterprises in China.
In January 2016, the Ministry of Public
Security issued 20 regulations to facili-
tate foreignersí work, residence as well as
entrepreneurship in China. From March 1
that year, foreign students of universities
in Beijing are allowed to start businesses in
Zhongguancun in Beijing, Chinaís Silicon
Valley, as long as they indicate they would be
involved in entrepreneurship in their study
visa.
Foreigners who are members of such
start-ups while having no work permit can
apply for a private affair visa marked entre-
preneurship with guarantee documents.
The government has also begun cutting
red tape in business license application pro-
cedures and has promised to further simplify
the process in the future while more sectors
are opening up to foreign investors.
Feuba Hermann has already started his
own business in Beijing just two months af-
ter graduating from Beijing Foreign Studies
University (BFSU). ìIím happy because I have
finally realized my dream to settle down in
China,î the 29-year-old told Beijing Review.
Six years ago the Cameroonian won
a Chinese speaking contest held by the
Confucius Institute in Yaounde, the capital
city of Cameroon. In his speech My Chinese
Dream, Hermnann talked about his wish of
coming to China to pursue a professional
career. One and a half years later, he got ad-
mission to BFSU for a masterís degree.
As soon as he graduated, he started the
paperwork to launch a startup, a translation
services company, and now has a five-year
business visa.
Although his company has just been
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Hermann sees golden opportunities in China.
He believes that as a large economy still de-
veloping fast, China holds great prospects for
both Chinese and foreigners.
ìThe population of China is 1.3 billion. It
means a very big market. My country only
has 27 million people, which is equivalent
only to the population of Beijing,î Hermann
said. ìThatís why I decided to found my com-
pany in China.î QNATION
Feuba Hermann
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