Shanghai the foreigners' favorite

[freemexy]

Shanghai the foreigners' favorite
Shanghai has topped a list of the most attractive cities on the Chinese mainland for foreigners for the seventh consecutive year, it was revealed on Sunday.To get more Pudong news, you can visit shine news official website.

At the 17th Conference on International Exchange Professionals, Zhang Jianguo, the deputy science and technology minister, released the latest “Amazing China — the Most Attractive Chinese Cities for Foreigners” ranking.

Launched in 2010 by the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs, the poll required foreigners to vote in four categories — expat-friendly policies, governmental administrative capacity, and working and living conditions.

“Shanghai is becoming a very important hub for international talent,” Oscar Ramos, managing director of Shanghai-based Chinaccelerator, the first startup accelerator launched in China, told Shanghai Daily.

“On one side local companies are internationalizing more and faster than ever and that requires global teams with cultural diversity. On the other hand, there's great potential to build new products and services in Shanghai that will have global potential.”

He added: “Shanghai citizens and enterprises are early adopters of new technology and the dynamic environment is a great ecosystem for innovation that is starting to be leveraged by both startups and multinationals.”

Ramos said that when he decided to move to China 11 years ago, his go-to destinations were initially Shenzhen or Beijing. He thought they would be perfect for his startup until a friend recommended Shanghai.

“Building a startup is a marathon and the support ecosystem is very important. Shanghai not only had a very supportive international community but in general was more welcoming for business with foreigners,” he added.

He added: "The quality of life is great too. The city has been modernized while preserving its heritage. Quality of air has been drastically improved and the many outside areas make it easy to enjoy sports and other activities. Shanghai is definitely the most international city on the Chinese mainland, making it uniquely positioned to attract foreign talent.”

The ranking was based on a poll carried out among nearly 10,000 foreigners throughout China including Nobel laureates and Chinese Friendship Award and Turing Award recipients.

Since April 2017, Shanghai has issued more than 120,000 work permits, with more than 18 percent issued to high-level foreign professionals, topping the country. Last year, Shanghai welcomed more than 500 foreign professionals.

The city has streamlined procedures for foreigners to apply for visas, as well as work and residence permits. In Pudong, foreign professionals are now able to obtain work and residence permits in just five days, and they have access to a one-stop service, meaning they don’t need to visit different departments and fill in different forms with the same details.

Last month, the city government released 25 measures offering greater financial and administrative support for aspiring innovators to accelerate the city’s development as a global science innovation hub by encouraging overseas research and innovation institutes to build global innovation centers in Shanghai and cooperate with local laboratories.