Jobs in China are both abundant and accessible to foreigners looking to gain employment. The trade sector, in particular, has a significant amount of jobs in China for foreigners. It is a good opportunity to gain international experience in an interesting and quickly developing environment. Dealing with another business culture can broaden your perspective. The Chinese government runs several job fairs aimed at foreign graduates to help with the transition.
Gaining experience in China will allow you to take part in the country’s prosperous outlook.
Jobs in China: Opportunities
One of the most common jobs in China for foreigners take is English teaching. The requirement is usually to have a university degree without necessarily needing a teaching certification; however, professional teachers earn nearly twice as much as those without.
Other industries with job opportunities in China for foreigners include the IT sector, marketing, engineering and technical skilled jobs. All of these areas are seeing a high demand for experienced professionals who can offer their skills to benefit Chinese companies. IT and online marketing has particularly seen demand by companies wanting to expand their international presence. As the Chinese internet is heavily restricted, local Chinese have limited knowledge about world affairs and cultures.
Jobs in Trade
Trade is arguably the best sector to enter (like Intrepid Sourcing). When it comes to jobs within trade, they are mainly related to either exporting or importing products from or to China. This area has a strong demand for English speaking professionals since China is heavily focused on trading with other international companies. Having a member of their staff who can speak fluent English is extremely beneficial, considering the international business language is English.
Elsewhere, there are plenty of sales jobs vacancies in China; boosted by the growing domestic market, but to be successful, a strong knowledge and understanding of the Chinese language and culture is required. Many expats are also moving to China to set up their own business. Since doing international trade can be a daunting task, many people seek to fill the gap between Chinese and foreign companies.
Likewise, quality control and inspections is another industry where a physical person needs to be present to carry it out. Many foreign companies are neither able to travel to China to inspect the factory, conduct quality control, or negotiate contracts nor trust a Chinese company to handle such tasks. There are opportunities for people who can speak both languages fluently and can carry out these tasks while representing a foreign firm.
Import Jobs in China
However, as China’s economy continues to grow and the country looks to change from an export based economy to a consumption based economy, job opportunities are presenting themselves. As a consequence from the shift to a consumption based economy there is a demand for imports into China.
This has resulted in Chinese companies looking to foreigners to work together to help with importing goods. It is becoming an increasingly common opportunity for people looking for jobs in China, and since this area is seeing further growth an expansion, it is a good time to enter into this field.
Working in China for Western companies or in the West for Chinese companies –
both have options that have a lot of potentials.
Western Companies in China, Chinese Companies in the West
It is becoming increasingly common for companies based in the West to start to invest into China and set up their own base of operations within the country. This is creating plenty of opportunities for jobs, as the companies seek to hire people from the West to play a part in their Chinese base.
Currently China has restrictions related to the industries in which foreign companies are able to invest. Through economic liberalization, the restrictions are slowly being overturned which has created plenty of areas that were previously unopened to Western countries to participate and many companies are seizing the chance to get a foot in the country.
On the other hand, Chinese companies are increasingly looking to invest abroad. By spending some time in China, opportunities can arise to work in your home country as a representative of a Chinese firm.
