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South China’s Foshan City hires foreign workers
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FOSHAN, in southern China’s Guangdong Province, has become China’s first city to employ foreigners to work for the government.
Four foreigners recruited by the Bureau of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation of Foshan City have started their jobs and the government is advertising for a fifth one, expecting to make a hire by July, Beijing News reported.
“The four foreign employees are like a fresh breeze to the bureau,” its deputy director, Yu Hongping, said.
The four foreigners were selected from 72 applicants. Their main duties are to promote and attract international investment, collect overseas investment information and set up channels with the world’s Top 500 companies.
“One of the biggest advantages of foreign workers is they can better communicate with foreign companies, search information more quickly and better know the international practices,” Yu said.
In addition, they can leave the country without the government’s administrative permits (Chinese civil servants have many restrictions if they go abroad).
“Investment promoters need to go on international business trips frequently, which is very suitable for foreign workers,” the deputy director said.
The four foreign workers all signed 1-year contracts and the salary is the same as local civil servants at the section-chief level. Their medical insurance and social security comply with the local standards. The foreigners don’t join the housing fund loan system but instead get subsidies to rent apartments.
Nicolas from Uruguay and Chris from the UK started their jobs four months ago.
The Uruguayan gave up a job offer in Washington and chose to work in Foshan. “I’m always interested in the China market.
It’s a great opportunity for me to know about the country and I want to bring something new and subversive,” Nicolas said.
Chris is responsible for designing the government’s English website. “It will be a great sense of success if foreign investors contact us via the website I design,” he told the Beijing News.
Director Yu admitted that work style of the foreigners is different from Chinese. “Chinese like to talk business at the dining table, but they seldom do that. Foreigners often send e-mails, visit the office and talk with people,” Yu said.
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