Changning issues policies for top talent

Expats in Hongqiao will be able to apply for the work and residence permits via a single service window at the city's first community-level foreign talent service center.

The service will be available soon at the Hongqiao Foreigner Talent Service Center at Gubei Civic Center, 99 Fugui Road E, Changning District, as one of the new measures to serve professionals working in the downtown district.

Currently, expats in Gubei have to go to the Hongqiao One-stop Service Center of Overseas Talent on Jinzhong Road to apply for the work and residence permits, which is 10 kilometers by car and about an hour on public transport.

The service center in Gubei also plans to open the first community-level site for the HSK test for Chinese language proficiency in non-native speakers, said Qin Yiwen, the centre’s executive deputy director.

Since it opened in October 2018, the center has issued work permits for 180 expats along with temporary residence registration for 2,200 people from overseas. It has also offered consultation services on entry, taxation and law for 880 people, Qin said.

More than 32,000 residents from 50 nations live in the Ronghua neighborhood of Gubei, one of the city's earliest and biggest international communities.

Changning District released a set of 20 policies on Monday to better serve and attract professionals, mainly related to the scientific innovation sector.

Changning aims to complete the main framework by the end of 2020 for its ambition to become a gathering place for scientific innovation professionals. The district also targets being a quality international urban district featuring innovation, dynamics and a green environment.

"Though the district has released a number of support policies for its professionals from across the world, the newly released measures are expected to benefit more," said Chen Xinhua, head of Changning’s human resources bureau.

The new measures will mainly serve and attract talent in the district's key industries such as senior management and R&D officials of the headquarters of multinational companies as well as in aviation services, fashion innovation, Internet plus life services, artificial intelligence and the finance industry.

Newly recruited employees with master’s or doctor’s degrees, for instance, can receive additional subsidies and preferential housing policies from the district government, Chen said.

Urgent demands

Highly skilled artisans can also receive subsidies by opening national and city level master's workshops or winning awards at various skills competitions.

An internship program will be launched to allow young professionals to be trained at government bodies and companies with subsidies.

"These new measures just solve the most urgent and difficult problems for companies in serving and attracting talent," said Bao Shaobin, human resources head with Theland, a Changning-based New Zealand dairy importer.

The dairy company signed deals worth 300 million yuan (US$42.3 million) at the second China International Import Expo in 2019. "The company requires more professionals with the surging amount of deals," Bao said. It has over 280 employees working in Shanghai along with nearly 1,000 salesmen across the country.

To better serve overseas talent, Changning will establish a startup base. Those who want to base their startups in Changning are entitled to discounts on rents, housing subsidies, subsidized loans, maker spaces and fast administrative approvals.

More streamlined one-stop services will be offered for overseas professionals. The administrative approval procedure will be shortened for top foreign professionals and foreign pilots.

The new measures also encourage more foreign and private hospitals to open green channels for overseas talent. More consultation services on children's education will be provided for senior managers from overseas.

The Hongqiao service center, for example, has hosted three international school exhibitions and invited school heads to talk with foreign parents directly, Qin said. Over 5,500 expats have taken part in the events.

The center has also established an online service platform along with the Expatriates Center and Shanghai Western Returned Scholars Association to help expats find new jobs or open new businesses. Multiple multinational enterprises are releasing the latest job opportunities on the platform.

An American resident was recruited by a local school as a teacher a week after the launch of the platform, Qin said.