China A Top Destination for Expatriates

By Frank Mulligan, Talent Software

Itís official, China is now one of the worldís top expatriate destinations.

According to a 2006 survey by relocation-services company Cendant Mobility, 90% of international companies expect to send as many or more expatriates to China as they have recently. Not sure what they mean by recently but we get the picture.

Cendant is in the business of moving people from one country to another and they clearly see a business opportunity to move expatriates to China. However, they also see a big potential in the increased hiring in Inner Province cities like Chengdu, Dalian, Tianjin, Qingdao, Shangyang and Chongqing. Many companies are moving factories from the high-cost East coast to these locations, and there is a serious shortage of managerial skills there. Moving people within China may not be such a big opportunity for Cendant but if the volume is rising then it deserves attention.

Unfortunately, at the same time as expatriates are being placed in the Inner Provinces (West), local professionals are headed to the Gold Coast in the East of China.

We have already noted how difficult it is in China for expatriates, and this has to be part of the difficulties. Imagine arriving in a small town in the West of China only to find that your Production Manager and Sales Manager are moving to Shanghai or Shenzhen. Tomorrow. And there is no one locally to replace them.

Hint: This is not a story plucked out of the air.

Comments to: frank.mulligan@recruit-china.com