Recruiting in China

The 2014 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit will be held in Beijing. It is viewed as a good opportunity to expedite urban development and pollution control, said a press officer of the Beijing municipal government.

Zhao Huimin, director general of the Foreign Affairs Office of Beijing's municipal government, announced that the 2014 APEC summit will be held at Yanqi Lake, a scenic site in Beijing's northwestern suburbs at a Tuesday press briefing in Bali, Indonesia.

Yanqi Lake was selected to let leaders of the APEC member economies enjoy the beautiful views of Beijing's outskirts, Zhao said, adding that compared with the time when Beijing held the 29th Olympic Games in 2008, the city has become more experienced to curb air pollution.

"Construction work at the site will follow environmentally-friendly principles. The venues will be using 100 percent clean energy, with all sewage and household waste processed, making the site an outstanding example of green and energy saving architecture," Zhao was quoted by the Beijing Youth Daily as saying.

The public expressed their welcome to the summit. However, severe air pollution which haunted the capital during the seven-day National Day holiday and reoccurred recently became the biggest challenge the city is facing.

"Compared with 2008, Beijing is facing greater pressure due to an increasing number of vehicles and more chemical facilities have been seen around Beijing in the past five years," Wang Tao, a scholar at Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy, told the Global Times.

"Air pollution is hard to curb within one year unless the government shuts down those chemical plants and takes more tightened restrictions to vehicle usage," Wang noted.

Beijing had launched an ambitious and strict clean air plan, aiming to reduce polluting particulate matter by 25 percent from 2012 by 2017.

The project was designed to be an international conference and exhibition center which takes up 31 square kilometers, with a total investment of 36 billion yuan ($5.9 billion) and is capable of housing up to 20,000 people.

"The construction of the site started several months ago. Many engineering companies have participated in the project, with some of the buildings being close to finished now," a communication officer, surnamed Guo, with a construction company responsible for three buildings of the project, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Zhao also presented the logo of the 2014 APEC summit, which represents the Chinese government's wish of cooperation with the other member economies by outlining a pattern of the earth with 21 horizontal, colorful lines, each representing a member economy.

The design also shares a similarity with Tiantan, or the Temple of Heaven, one of the most popular historical sites in Beijing.

Some say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If that’s the case, Canadian immigration officials should be flattered.

According to Chinese news media, China will be introducing a list of skills currently in demand in the country, in order to aid its recruitment of foreign talent.

A report in the China Daily in late September quoted an unnamed foreign affairs official saying Beijing is “identifying shortages in the domestic labour market” to “learn what types of workers (domestic firms) felt are hard to find.”

The wording strikes an uncanny resemblance to what Canadian immigration minister Chris Alexander said in Vancouver just two weeks ago — that the federal government, through its Expression of Interest program, is looking to fill areas where there is specific labour needs with foreign talent.

Also shared by Beijing’s announcement and Alexander’s speech was a call to private enterprise to help the central governments compile the most up-to-date list possible, so the foreign talent being brought into the country can immediately integrate and contribute.

Coincidence? More than likely. But the fact that a major power in global politics is now taking a similar model as Canada in identifying and addressing domestic talent deficiencies demonstrates both the effectiveness of the Canadian system and the fierce competition for the best and the brightest around the world.

Beijing’s announcement came two years after the city of Shanghai began publishing its own oversea recruitment list, according to China Daily. The list was modest in size — 72 positions that nine state-owned enterprises were looking to fill.

The national skills list is to be published next year, although no other details, such as the number of positions needing to be filled, have been released. It is unlikely that the numbers would be as large as the Canadian program — Beijing specified “foreign recruitment,” not “immigration,” as the key process of gaining talent, indicating they are looking to fill only the top echelon of the labour market.

Still, with China looking for talents in the management, technology and science fields, and the market’s access to a region where the two biggest economies (China and Japan) are both on the rise this year (not to mention the growing importance of the Southeast Asian markets, led by the big six of Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines), the attractiveness of the opportunities for foreign workers speaks for itself.

In some places closer to China, the draw of Beijing is already rivalling that of the United States. The South Korean government released data last week that 62,855 Korean students studied in China in 2012, almost quadruple the number (16,372) recorded in 2001.

The data also shows, however, that North America — both the U.S. and Canada — continue to be extremely popular, as well. Seoul’s figures put the Korean student population in the United States at 73,351, the most of any nation around the world. Canada, meanwhile, sits third at 20,658, followed by Japan and Australia.

What this means is that, while Canada may be faced with other countries competing for the same foreign talents, it still has an inherent attractiveness to immigrants and potential labour. The key, however, is not to become complacent — because, as it can be seen above, the competition is fierce.

China is to publish a list of work skills most in demand to aid recruitment from overseas, a top official in charge of foreign affairs has revealed.

Speaking ahead of the 2013 Friendship Award ceremony on Saturday, Liu Yanguo, deputy director of the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs, said his authority is identifying shortages in the domestic labor market.

"We’ll do research with human resource departments and employers to learn what types of workers they feel are hard to find,” he told China Daily.

The list is scheduled for release next year, and will be updated to keep pace with changes in market demand.

How and where it will be published, as well as other details, are still under discussion, Liu added.

Wang Huiyao, director-general of the Center for China and Globalization, a Beijing think tank, welcomed the move.

"It’s important to have such a list. It can improve the effect of recruitment from abroad,” he said.

By listening to employers’ demands, he said, authorities will be able to pinpoint industries with long-term skill shortages and introduce favorable policies.

Shanghai began publishing a recruitment list for overseas talent in 2011. On the list, nine State-owned enterprises, including Shanghai Electric, provide 72 job vacancies that they plan to fill, with salaries up to 800,000 yuan ($131,000).

China needs foreign talent from all walks of life, especially people with expertise in management, technology and science, Liu said.

He added that China’s efforts to recognize and reward people who have made tremendous contributions to China’s development and bilateral friendship is equally important in attracting high-end talent.

Fifty foreign experts received the Friendship Award this year. The prize is the highest accolade given to foreign citizens by the Chinese government.

Liu said all winners are distinctive foreign experts working in China.

Many recipients this year are leading scientists and scholars, including Israeli biologist Aharon Ciechanover, the 2004 Nobel laureate in chemistry, who is director of Nanjing University’s Institute of Chemistry and Biomedical Sciences.

"Thirty years ago, most foreign experts came to help China solve technological problems, but now China also enables foreign experts to realize their dream and boost their career development,” Liu said.

Noticeably, four recipients, including Ravi Shankar Narasimhan, a senior editor at China Daily, were recognized for efforts in “helping China better tell its stories to the outside world”, Liu said.

"Many foreigners, after they came to China, realized China was not a rising monster but a fascinating country,” Liu said. “We appreciate foreign experts’ efforts can help the outside world better understand China.”

The job market has become so competitive that even well-qualified graduates need to secure internships to find work

Twenty-three-year-old Baptist University graduate Trista Hon has reason to be excited. She is about to start working at BDO, an international accounting company, after beating many others for the position.

Hon attributes her success to her two-month working experience in Shanghai in the summer of last year. Hon took part in the government's Mainland Experience Scheme, a five-year pilot scheme launched in 2011 to sponsor short-term internships, or learning programmes, in the mainland for about 30,000 students.

"Auditing jobs require frequent travel to the mainland. It helps a lot that I have some understanding of working across the border. I can also adjust to working in the mainland better than other students," says Hon, who will be based in Hong Kong for the near future.

To prepare Hon for her stay in the mainland last year, Baptist University's career centre evaluated her fluency in Putonghua, along with her ability to cope with emergencies when working outside the territory.

In the current competitive economic environment, internships can give potential graduates a head start. Every day, recruiters are flooded with applications from university students who possess stunning academic credentials.

"We come across graduates with impressive academic and extra-curricular credentials all the time," says Sue Kim, founder of LIBBLE, an online platform established two years ago that is dedicated to the development of new graduates, and job matching.

"It's very easy to find a graduate who speaks four languages, has completed more than three internships or won academic scholarships, on our talent database," says Kim. "Competition has indeed become fierce."

In response to this challenging employment landscape, career centres at universities are constantly on the lookout for internship opportunities locally, globally and in the mainland.

Since 2005, Polytechnic University has required students to complete at least one internship before graduation. Every year, an average of 3,000 students from PolyU are engaged in an internship.

This summer, Chinese University placed 570 students in internships in 24 countries, under its global internship programme.

"Employers prefer job applicants with internship experience because they are more mature and more familiar with the corporate world," says Melina Lai, director of the Office of Careers and Placement Services at PolyU. "They tend to have a stronger work ethic and are more adaptable."

"If a new graduate has never done an internship, employers may wonder if the graduate lacks the initiative to look for one," she explains.

The chance of a student being hired is boosted if he or she has international working experience, according to Dr Tim Wong, head of Baptist University's career centre. "Medium to large-sized companies are selective in the recruitment process, and an international internship would improve the chance for a job candidate," he says.

Echoing Wong, Lai says students with international experience had demonstrated better communications skills and flexibility, and were more independent.

Work experience prior to leaving school is especially beneficial for students without a professional degree. For example, an English major with an emphasis on languages and literature has plenty of options other than teaching, including administration, journalism, legal services, sales and marketing, and public relations.

"Employers are looking for people who have been exposed to more than one particular field," Wong says.

Career advisers at the institutes are charged with the task of equipping students with the skills for a smooth transition into corporate life. Training courses and workshops on job hunting skills, interview etiquette, and resume writing, are organised on campus.

Before they start their internship, students are briefed on issues such as foreign culture, if they are heading to the mainland or overseas, and the jargon of particular industries.

The role interns are expected to play has changed over the years. In the past, the youngsters were seen as helping hands to provide support for the regular staff in an office. But now the new entrants are increasingly being integrated into overall manpower planning.

An internship can pave the way for a permanent position in large companies. Banks, in particular, may issue conditional offers to student workers who perform well, before they get their degrees.

Many employers view an internship as an arrangement that is meant to benefit the company as well as the student. "[It is] for the mutual benefit of the students and the employers themselves," says Lai. "We have come across small and medium sized enterprises which offer internships to develop students' interest in their fields.

"Eventually, the employers hope to secure their long-term commitment to the company. This in turn, helps to plug the shortfall from the turnover of regular staff," she says.

While a university degree, stellar academic results and other criteria are often advantageous, employers also take soft skills into consideration to identify the right candidates.

Sectors like banking, asset management, consumer products, retail and technology want to be sure that the young workers have a can-do attitude and are reliable, Kim says. "To impress experienced recruiters, graduates need to be able to show genuine passion and interest for the role. They can do this by having a good understanding of themselves and their interests," she says.

"They are also looking for people who can formulate their own views. Critical thinking and problem-solving skills are useful, as is the ability to construct a sound opinion." Baptist University encourages students to become involved in community projects. They try to get them to help with the co-ordination, rather than just join in. "Students nowadays tend to be less independent. They need to become proactive in finding resources," Wong says.

The recent death of an intern at Bank of America in London, which is believed have been caused by excessive work, raised questions about the exploitation of young graduates.

"We always monitor the situation of our students closely by keeping in touch with them throughout the internship," Wong says.

Staff from the career centre join students abroad to help them settle in, he says, adding that social media is used to share information among students and keep track of their situation.

Local regulations on foreign investment in Shanghai’s free trade zone will be suspended for three years from next Tuesday, in line with the state’s temporary adjustments on related laws to ease legal barriers for foreign participants.

The pilot free trade zone is due to open on Sunday.

The Shanghai People’s Congress, the city legislative body, said local regulations in the zone would be further adjusted if they were inconsistent with national laws and regulations and the overall plan for the zone. The suspension aims to maintain the unity of the national legal system and to push forward with the construction of the free trade zone, according to the SPC Standing Committee.

China’s top legislature last month authorized the State Council to suspend administrative approvals for foreign-funded enterprises, Chinese-foreign equity joint ventures and Chinese-foreign contractual joint ventures in the free trade zone, in a move to decentralize government power as part of the reform and opening up policy.

“The management system, operating mechanism and supervision system in the free trade zone will be quite different and will inevitably have conflicts with the current regulations,” said Ding Wei, director of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the SPC.

“The decision to adjust local regulations will lay a legal foundation for the introduction of ground-breaking reforms,” Ding said.

Covering a total of 28 square kilometers in the Pudong New Area, the free trade zone is expected to be a testing ground for major policy reforms involving government function transformation, trade facilitation and financial innovations such as free yuan convertibility and liberal interest rates and foreign exchange.

Wang Xinkui, director of the city’s Counselor’s Office and the city’s WTO Affairs Consultation Center, said at a forum yesterday that the pilot free trade zone is not about preferential policies but is a place for the exploration of institutional innovation.

Wang said the transformation of regulatory methods from administrative approval to management through a registration system will be a major part of reforms within the zone.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said earlier that a negative list approach will be explored in the free trade zone and priority will be given to easier investment and greater openness.

The establishment of the pilot free trade zone in Shanghai has raised hopes that China will deepen its economic reforms as part of a broad strategy to shift the world’s second-largest economy toward a mode driven by domestic consumption, replacing investments and exports.

On Sunday, the Shanghai government will publicize some detailed rules for the zone.

China’s Big Bang or just the first of a bunch of loud pops? asks Asia Sentinel’s Steve Wang

On Sunday, China’s State Council is due to set in motion a long awaited pilot plan for the 28.78 sq km Shanghai Free Trade Zone, marking a major milestone for the country’s cautious, step-by-step economic liberalization that began 30 years ago.

It is a Big Bang that has Hong Kong officials looking nervously over their shoulders. Shanghai has been talked about as China’s financial capital since at least 1995, prior to the takeover of the former British crown colony by the Chinese government, when Fortune Magazine carried a cover story titled “The Death of Hong Kong.” The tycoon Li Ka-shing, Asia’s richest man, for instance, warned publicly recently that the impact of the Shanghai FTZ will be much bigger and come much more quickly than the territory anticipates.

Critics have said Hong Kong, still saddled with the colonial mentality that characterized the territory prior to 1997, will have trouble meeting a competition characterized by the ability to act fast and without the hobbles of an often-fractious Legislative Council and a chief executive’s office that has been steadily losing public support for a variety of reasons.

The territory’s main attributes, however, remain the enforceability of contract and the rule of law, both of which are absent in the mainland, and a communications and transport infrastructure that rank among the best in the world although parts of China are catching up fast.

Some of the details of the FTZ plan were released Friday to allow experiments within the zone, in Shanghai’s Pudong district, including easing restrictions on yuan, investment, trade and business management.

According to Xinhua, the state-owned news service, the opening permits reforms in six different fields including financial services including banking, health insurances and leases. Logistics are to include shipping and port management. Commercial enterprises include telecommunication and gaming services, professional services refer to a closer working with HK law enterprises, credit surveyors, travelling agencies, recruitment companies, investment managers and construction. Cultural and entertainment imply performer agencies and entertainment resorts. Social services mean education, vocational training and medical care.

“Under the preconditions that risk can be controlled, China will create conditions to test yuan convertibility under the capital account, market-set interest rates and cross-border use of the Chinese currency in the zone,” according to the plan. Regulations in the zone will also be eased in 18 sectors from finance, shipping, commerce to culture.

The zone is to be modeled on existing free trade businesses in the country’s economic hub – Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Waigaoqiao Free Trade Logistics Park, Yangshan Free Trade Port Area and Pudong Airport Comprehensive Free Trade Zone, allowing domestic banks to provide services to depositors who are residents in other countries, according to Xinhua. It will also allow eligible foreign-funded financial institutions to set up banks and team up with qualified private banks to establish joint-ventures.