Govt green lights easier access to 'green cards'

Improved management

In March, the State Council, China's Cabinet, decided to establish the State Immigration Administration to further improve immigration management and provide better services for foreign nationals. In the two months after it was established, the administration, which is overseen by the Public Security Bureau, approved 1,881 applications, equivalent to the total number of approvals last year.

"In the globalized world that people now take for granted, the United States' adoption of restrictive policies on immigration, and Brexit in the United Kingdom, have highlighted the growing unpopularity of globalization as a solution to economic distress," said Frank Pieke, professor of migration policies and development at Leiden University in the Netherlands.

By contrast, China's green card policy, coupled with the Belt and Road Initiative, is sending a positive signal to the world that the country welcomes highly skilled expat workers and managers, and is embracing globalization, he added.

However, China was a closed, feudal society for thousands of years before finally opening its borders 40 years ago, and the country still has a long task ahead to reform the immigration process and attract more foreign talent.

For example, less than 2,000 foreign nationals were given green cards in China last year, while more than 1 million immigrants became permanent residents of the United States, according to statistics from the US Department of Home Security.

"As China is now embracing the world in a broader sense, it will be more open to the world than ever before, especially in terms of population flow," said Zeng Shaocong, director of the Center for International Migration and Overseas Chinese Research in Beijing.

Expats facilitate the transfer of technology, thus contributing to the flow of hi-tech goods and ideas, along with capital, so the government should give talented foreigners more opportunities to make China their home, provide a more favorable environment and ensure the protection and rights they deserve, Zeng said.

Greater openness

However, China is nowhere near the most attractive country for expats, being ranked 41st in an HSBC survey of expats' views of the economic, living and child-raising environments in 46 countries.

Despite that low ranking, the situation could improve vastly if China makes a concerted effort to welcome foreign nationals, and the government emphasizes the country's greater accessibility, experts said.

"A strong and constant message from the President of China, Xi Jinping, alongside economic and lifestyle incentives for potential talent will have a big impact on mobility flows over time," said William Harvey, professor of talent management and migration at Exeter University in the UK.

Back in Beijing, Levine, the teacher at Minzu University, is busy updating his book, and is adding a chapter that will elaborate on the relationship between China and the world.

He has no plans to return to the US, and when asked if he will eventually go home, he just smiled and replied, "I am home."