Attracted by jobs, influenced by city's economic prospects

When asked about the most attractive factor of working in China, the country's abundant job opportunities topped the list.

China's job opportunities and economic prospects accounted for 55 percent and 47.9 percent respectively, policy openness and living conditions of expats already working there were selected as most attractive factors.

[Graph/chinadaily.com.cn]

What also matters for them are easiness of living, history and culture of the city, and convenient border entry and exit, followed by environment and pollution.

[Graph/chinadaily.com.cn]

Mostly satisfied with the salary

Nearly 70 percent of expats expressed satisfaction with their salaries in China.

There was a geographical difference as well. Expats from Hangzhou (83.8 percent), Hefei (80.1 percent) and Guangzhou (76.7 percent) expressed the strongest satisfaction.

In recent years, implementation of convenient working permits and visa system for expats boosted government's effort on policies, and cities' working and living conditions.

"Full implementation of convenient work permits and visa for expats builds competitive platforms for attracting international talents. We must vigorously create a good environment for expats to innovate and start businesses in China," Zhang Jianguo, deputy minister of Science and Technology and director of the State Bureau of Foreign Experts said.

The expert panel this year had 68 members, including four Nobel Prize in Chemistry laureates, Chinese Friendship Award recipients and foreign experts selected for the National "1,000 Talent Plan for High-level Foreign Experts".

The survey was co-conducted by the China Society for Research on International Professional Personnel Exchange and Development and International Talents magazine. Data analysis of the survey was provided by the organisers and Dataway.