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One of my best ‘finds’ this year has been the Sinica podcast. At last – a podcast discussing current affairs in China in an objective fashion, with hosts that clearly understand China.

For the first 18 or so episodes, I’ve agreed with everything they’ve said. Well not every single thing – there have been moments when I’ve said "Hang on, what about … ?" to my mp3 player. In each case however, one of the hosts subsequently chipped in and raised my point. As a result, I’ve developed a healthy respect for both the hosts and the show.

With the recent episode discussing China Apologists (or Panda Huggers), I found myself not quite agreeing with the host for the first time – so here are my thoughts on the issue. The discussion centered around an article written by Shaun Rein and ‘responses’ on The Peking Duck and A Modern Lei Feng. I’m not going to rehash these articles, but they form the background to this rather rambling post on the topic.

Definition Of A China Apologist

First, what is a China Apologist? Where is the line that, once crossed, sees someone who is Pro China become a China Apologist?

The podcast hosts discussed a variety of indicators, but they didn’t agree on an exact definition. What they did agree is that it’s a complex and subjective issue – one person’s definition can be very different from another’s.

Still, from the discussion around the criteria, I made a frightening discovery – I suspect many would consider me a China Apologist!

Help I Think I’m An China Apologist!

Let me present the evidence against me.

First, check out my Speilberg Wrong To Withdraw From Beijing Olympics post. I mention Guantanamo bay amongst other things, which is one of the markers laid down by Kaiser. I do put in the disclaimer "There’s no doubt that China does have issues – some big ones", but then ruin it with "but so does every country".

Second, I’ve been known to defend the Chinese government in conversation, saying things like "You’ve got to remember that they are governing a country with 1.3 billion people, a huge gap between rich and poor, a raft of social issues, local government that does it’s own thing, etc – it’s not easy to maintain stability". I do put the standard disclaimer that the country has some huge issues, but I don’t push it – there’s enough written about the huge issues elsewhere.

Finally, I failed the Google Test. My reaction wasn’t "Yay Google". It was "Way to go Google, now you’ve forced China to push back even if they don’t want to". I don’t quite see how anyone who understands China could expect Google to actually achieve anything by their move.

Oh shit, now I’m being condescending – that seals it, I’m a Panda Hugger. But you know what, if that’s the case, then I’m not ashamed of it! Or to borrow a line from Jeremy Goldkorn: "Fuck you all"!

Now that I’ve destroyed the PG rating of my site, I’m going to explain why I think a dash of Apologism isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

First, A Disclaimer

The podcast hosts are all well known in China circles. I’m not well known or influential, nor do I know others who are. While there’s probably a reasonable overlap in our experiences of China, for the most part my experiences were in a different sphere:

• I wasn’t really part of an expat community.
• I didn’t live in one of the major cities (although I was only a couple of hours away, that seems to be a big difference).
• I wasn’t involved in the news or media industries as many of the podcast hosts are, I was teaching (English and ICT).
• I’m married to a Chinese national and we have kids, which greatly affected my experiences in China.

This article is based on my experience in China. I accept that parts it may not match with others’ experience of China.

Also, importantly, I’m a blogger, not a journalist. I make the distinction, although there is a real blurring of the lines these days. I have different standards to uphold: It means I can get away with making generalizations and presenting opinion, rather than focusing on the factual details.

And, well, okay, maybe I more than just hugged the Panda. I’m not just defending China, I’m protecting my kids. I don’t want to have to explain to them why the media in their father’s homeland is so critical of their mother’s homeland. I want there to be an increase in understanding of China by the West, so that my kids will have an easier life.

Shaun Rein’s Response

Shaun gave an audio postcard in the podcast, defending his position and arguing that he’s not a China Apologist. I’m not going to go over his defence in detail, but it’s worth a quick mention. I don’t agree with everything Shaun said, especially the detail. For example, I can’t agree with his statement on real poverty having been eradicated.

I know when I first came to China, I was struck by how many of the people I met, although genuinely poor, were actually happier than us materialistic Westerners. And although living in squalid conditions, they all seemed to have enough food.

However, the illusion of people being happy in poverty disappears when you know people who can’t get the medical treatment they need because they can’t afford it. How many people die because they can’t afford basic medical treatment? Whether that’s a problem with the medical system rather than real poverty isn’t something I’m interested in arguing about – if that’s happening, then there’s a problem.

Anyway, although I don’t agree with the details of Shaun’s defense, I do agree with the broader issues that he outlines:

• Credit to the government where it’s due
• The big stick won’t lead to reform
• Things are slowly improving

I believe these are all true, but I’m going to briefly explore the second of these, as it’s the one that most encourages my Apologist tendencies.

The Big Stick

Let me digress for a moment:

Back in 2002, when I’d only been in China for several months, a new foreign teacher arrived at our school in Guangdong. We took him down to one of our favourite restaurants for dinner. While we were eating, some Chinese men were smoking at the table next to us. Our new companion leant across, tapped one of the men on the shoulder and said something like "Would you mind not smoking. Don’t you know it can kill you?". He said this in English. The reaction from the Chinese men? They looked at him briefly, then ignored him and continued smoking.

After a couple of minutes, our companion tapped the man on the shoulder again and berated him again. Did it work? No, he was ignored even harder. Yes, I do mean ignored even harder. The men weren’t sure what to make of him, but they sure weren’t going to do anything that even acknowledged him.

So what does this have to do with the current discussion on Apologists?

For those of you who want to tap China on the shoulder and tell them to stop it, do you really think it’s going to work? If so, do you understand China at all?

Oops, I’m generalizing and being condescending again. Actually, I accept that the people on the podcast know many aspects of China better than me – but come on, I mean when has this approach ever really worked in China? Okay, it does work occasionally, but:

• not on really important issues;
• if it does work, you normally pay for it later; and
• it’s just not the best way to get things done in China.

Not to mention that I find it incredibly rude. When I see this behaviour (and I see it all the time towards China), then I feel an urge to jump in and help the person, or in this case country, that’s under attack, even if I don’t agree with that they’re doing.

I understand people’s desires to make China more accountable, to help it improve, but I don’t think shouting at them is going to change anything – and it may be actually be detrimental in many cases.

There are better ways to deal with China: to work quietly behind the scenes, show them the benefits of change, etc. Okay, I’m aware that these are generalizations and I’m not in a position to actually do this – whereas I am in a position to shout at them, but I genuinely don’t think that’s going to help at all.

The Main Point: Who Are You Talking To?

So we’re nearing my main point. Forget all my other arguments if you like. This is the big one, the one I wanted to hear discussed on the podcast:

Who is your audience? Who are you talking to?

Let’s take Forbes, which is who Shaun Rein writes for. I obviously don’t have access to the web analytics data for Shaun’s articles, but I would suspect that the number of readers is ordered something like this:

1. People in North America = by far the largest group
2. People in other English speaking countries (UK, Australia, NZ)
3. People in non English speaking countries in Europe
4. People in China:
   • The expat community (by far the largest sub group)
   • The Chinese people

Oh, I’m sure that the Chinese government monitors what the Western media says and will pick up on articles criticising them. But as I mentioned before, I don’t think that’s going to help much.

And yes, I’m sure that some of the Chinese people will read these articles and it may help them form their own opinion. But I’m not convinced that the percentage of Chinese people reading it will be enough to facilitate change.

But whether they are listening or not is not the point. If you’re writing for either the Chinese government or the mainstream Chinese people, you are ignoring your main audience: average Westerners.

Writing For The Average Westerner

Have you ever travelled back home and overheard someone say something totally incorrect about China? How did you feel? Did you correct them or bite your tongue? I bet everyone on the Podcast, indeed every foreigner who’s lived in China, has gone through that at some point. I bet most would like to change the such points of view and spread understanding of China.

So what’s the best way educate the average Westerner about the real China? Through the media – including news sites and blogs.

What sort of opinion of China is the average person going to get if it’s all negative, beating China with a stick? Probably not far from where we are now. Mainstream views in the West are often one sided. For example, go to Yahoo! Answers and do a search for "China job". At the time of writing many of the entries were about people worried about American jobs being lost to China:

I’m not commenting on this particular topic, nor am I saying that these concerns aren’t valid, just demonstrating that the average person in the West has concerns about China: in this case about American jobs being lost to China. What I am saying is that it’s important that people in the West have a balanced understanding of China.

Right now, many people are predisposed to believe the negative about China. That’s mostly what they hear. They don’t have the understanding of China that first hand experience gives. They can only go by what they read and hear. They deserve access to information about the positive side of China.

It’s not the end of the world if people occasionally cross the line in an attempt to present the other side of the argument. It’s not as though people aren’t constantly crossing the line in the other direction all the time. If that’s all people see, then negative views of China will remain in the ascendance.

I know this won’t go down well with people who are frustrated with China and who want to change it. I know it won’t go down well with those who have journalistic integrity to maintain. But remember, you’re not just speaking to China, you’re speaking to the world. Don’t hold back with criticism of China where it’s deserved (as it so often is), but give China some love too where it’s merited, even if it means you cross that line from time to time.

If your main audience is the West, don’t waste time swinging an ineffective big stick that’s not really helping promote change, just reinforcing the divide between China and West (and making you feel good). Put the big stick away and use your influence to try to bring the two cultures closer.

If you can’t do that, then at least don’t jump all over someone who’s trying.

Final Thoughts

So yeah, I hugged the Panda and I’ll keep on hugging it. What’s more, I think more people should hug it as well. Promoting the other side of the argument, increasing understanding – these can’t be bad things.

So what if we slip over the line into being a China Apologist from time to time? That’s not any worse than being too hard on China and presenting a distorted view of China to people in the West, which just permeates misunderstanding between countries.

I’m sure many will think my reasoning is flawed or I’ve missed the point. If so, let me know in the comments!

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This is a guest article by Interim Management Solutions.

Foreign Executives have been working in China and Asia for decades. Originally on expatriate contracts, a high number of them have now decided to stay in China. This is either done by renewing their contract, making the transition over to another company or by using their experience and expertise in an Interim role.

The use of Interim Managers is a common business tool in Europe and the USA, but is a fairly new solution in China. There are many different situations where businesses decide to use Interim Managers. China is currently witnessing a sustained period of business restructuring, mergers & acquisitions and rationalisation. This is where experience really does count.

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The current economy in China demands experience. Many of our Interim Managers have over 10 years experience within Multi-national companies. We are seeing a dramatic increase in the demand for highly experienced foreign executives for temporary assignments.

Christopher continues

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A typical assignment can last from six months to over two years. An example of this kind of assignment is Interim Manager – John Moor. John is a British citizen and a highly experienced IT Professional, providing IT Project Direction and Management, with over 15 years experience in the IT field of which 3 years working in China (mainly Beijing & Shanghai). He has vast experience with Microsoft Systems and has even managed the relocation of an entire IT division to a new facility in the UK.

His current assignment for Interim Management Solutions is as Director of Information Technology for a textile company based in Nanjing, Jiangsu province. He is now in the 11th month of a 12 month contract where his main KPI was to specify and deliver a new ERP system.

John’s hands-on experience has been invaluable in bringing the company’s IT infrastructure up to the required standards necessary prior to rolling out a successful ERP platform. Being able to adapt and provide solutions not in the original assignment are all part of the skill set of the Interim Manager

Interim Managers are available in a variety of Industries. Dealing with both Foreign and local executives, Interim Management Solutions currently holds the largest database of Interim Managers in China.

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This is a photo I took when I first lived in China in 2002, in the southern province of Guangdong: a bus with metal seats:

As you can see in the photo, the seats are entirely made out of metal (stainless steel from memory), rather than traditional seats with padding.

It was a little uncomfortable to sit on, although given this was in the tropics, the seats were probably cooler than padded seats – it gets pretty damn hot there. Having said that, I’m sure the primary motivation behind the metal seats was more to do with the ease of cleaning.

I’ve been on a lot of buses in China and the vast majority have padded seats very similar to what we have in the West. I’ve only ever seen these buses with metal seats in Guangdong.

You can also notice that in the front half of the bus there’s only one row of seats in each side of the bus and plenty of room to stand. Buses in China can get pretty crowded – although there weren’t many people aboard on the day of the photo.

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This is a photo I took when I first lived in China in 2002, in the southern province of Guangdong: a countdown timer on the traffic lights:

I was really taken with the countdown display on the traffic lights, showing how many seconds were left before the lights went green. How simple, yet elegant. Why hadn’t I seen this before?

It lets you know exactly how long you have to wait. No sitting there on tenterhooks, waiting for that green light – you can relax a little, which should improve your concentration when you’re actually driving. No being caught out by the light suddenly changing to green – you know exactly when it’s going to happen.

There’s an added benefit: everyone knows how much time they have and, this being China, you get to see all sorts of interesting behavior: people rearranging their load, sending a text message and goodness knows what else.

Of course, this only works with timed traffic lights. Here in Brisbane, the lights have had sensors for 15 years or so: the time a red light shows is variable, so this wouldn’t work. Still, I lived in Denver a year or so before I moved to China and they had a lot of timed traffic lights but no display.

I thought this quite ingenious of the Chinese. Have you seen any other ingenious ‘inventions’ in China?

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Flickr Picks: My favourite China related finds from Flickr, the photo sharing website. Click on the image to visit the photo's home page on Flickr.

Christmas is upon us again. This year, I’m in Australia, but I’ll be thinking about Christmas in China, which I’ve been fortunate to experience on a number of occasions.

This photo by Keemz of a Christmas tree in Beijing got me thinking about past Christmases in China:

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I guess I should say that I’m happy to spend Christmas here in Australia, with my family – and I am – but part of me will miss the experience of spending Christmas in China:

• The camaraderie with other foreign teachers as we celebrate a Western festival in a non Western country and find ways of making it ‘like home’
• The excitement of my students, which hardened Western high school / university students don’t want to match
• The bustle of the shops on Christmas Eve
• The fire works that will go off on Christmas Eve
• The general surrealness of Christmas in China

Of course, I won’t miss:

• The absence of family
• The fact that most people work on Christmas Day (even if I don’t have to)
• That Christmas Day is a non event compared to Christmas Eve
• That there’s no such thing as Boxing Day (although the same goes for the US)

I hope you all have a great Christmas wherever you are.

Disclaimer: This photo was not taken by me. It was shared by a third-party on Flickr, under a Creative Commons license. For details on the license, see the photo's home page on the Flickr website.

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While I was going through my old photos, I came across the following (rather blurry) photo of a Diet Coke can:

I’ve previously featured a picture of a Diet Coke can by cogdogblog, which I found on Flickr. Although cogdogblog’s photo is much nicer, I thought I’d post my photo here, mainly so I could tell a related story.

I won’t re-tell the story of how I found Diet Coke – I did that in my original post about cogdogblog’s photo. Instead I’ll move on to a subsequent story.

After a long and desperate search, having finally found a can of Diet Coke, I took the photo above. This was back in 2002, when Diet Coke was almost impossible to get in China.

The reason I took the photo wasn’t for posterity or to put it on the Internet 7 years later. It was to keep on my camera, so I could show it to people at other restaurants / bars / shops and hopefully get a can of Diet Coke as a result.

The first time I tried to use the photo to get a can of Diet Coke was at a Buddhist restaurant at a tourist destination / scenic spot. I took out my camera, found the photo and showed it to the waitress. Her eyes lit up. She said something like “we have, we have” and went racing out the back.

She was back minutes later with an icy cold can of … Coke. Not Diet Coke. Coke.

Something was obviously lost in translation. Actually, I think at that time Diet Coke was so rare that the vast majority of people in China didn’t even know it existed. When presented with the photo, the waitress could tell it was a Coke product, but couldn’t differentiate between Coke and Diet Coke.

At the time, I wasn’t into Coke at all, I really only wanted Diet Coke, so this was major disappointment. The irony is that I no longer drink Diet Coke. I’m a Coke man again!

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Flickr Picks: My favourite China related finds from Flickr, the photo sharing website. Click on the image to visit the photo's home page on Flickr.

It’s been a while since I posted a photo I’ve found on Flickr, but when I came across this photo of intertwined padlocks on the Great Wall of China by nuck, it just cried out to be included here.

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Nuck’s comment on the photo is as follows:

Young couples interlock padlocks on gates dotting the Great Wall in the belief it will bring the strength of the wall to their relationships.

I never knew that! I can’t remember seeing any padlocks on the Great Wall of China, but I guess if I had seen some, I wouldn’t have thought of them as being significant.

It just goes to show that the Chinese are quite superstitious. In cases like this, I like it! It’s both romantic and endearing. There are times when the superstitions are less appealing however (like when I can’t do something because of a superstition!).

Anyway, I liked the concept when I saw the photo, but the clincher was that it was set on the Great Wall of China, a place I’ve visited and a place of such significance for China.

I’ve seen hundreds of photos of the Great Wall, but never one like this. It was unique. Most photos are just shots of the wall stretching into the distance. To see a photo which wasn’t just a photo of the wall, but was a photo of something else which just happened to be on the wall, was truly refreshing.

Likewise, the topic wasn’t something I’d normally associate with the Great Wall. When I think of it, I’m not thinking about customs and superstitions. I’m thinking about the ancient Great Wall of China, the spectacular achievement by the Chinese of long ago (and boy isn’t it something).

I’m wondering how long is the Great Wall of China, how did they build it, why did they build it, how old is it, etc or perhaps just marvelling at the magnificent engineering feat.

The Great Wall of China is really something that’s worthwhile visiting if you get the chance. Just remember to keep an eye out for the padlocks. If you see any, let me know!

Disclaimer: This photo was not taken by me. It was shared by a third-party on Flickr, under a Creative Commons license. For details on the license, see the photo's home page on the Flickr website.

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Although I no longer live in China, I’m still trying to learn Chinese and I’m always on the lookout for new Chinese terms to learn. Occasionally, I’ll come across Chinese terms during every day life in the West, which is always cool: just going about my daily business and then all of a sudden some Chinese term pops up and hits me.

So when the Zhu Zhu Pets Hamsters came along, I thought “That’s obviously Chinese, Zhu Zhu probably means pig pig”.

Not wanting to be too sure of myself, I looked up other meanings of Zhu, just in case it meant something else. I didn’t see any other likely candidates. I did find the following translation of guinea pig on a forum on pet names: “tian zhu shu”. Someone else calls them “xiao zhu zhu” on the same entry.

Bingo! The Zhu Zhu Pets Hamsters must be Chinese. Okay, hamsters and guinea pigs are slightly different, but that’s too much of a coincidence isn’t it?

Maybe not. Searching for a more concrete link between Zhu Zhu Pets Hamsters and the Chinese language proved fruitless. Then I found out that they used to be called Go Go Pets Hamsters and it seems to me that the new name is just some marketing hype. To top it off, it seems Zhu Zhu is pronounced as zoo zoo (which would be zu), rather than jew jew (zhu).

So I guess I was wrong and I was seeing Chinese where there wasn’t any. Fooled by the little electronic pet hamsters…

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As mentioned recently, I’m going to publish some of my old photos of China. Here are a couple of photos of an ‘international’ hotel in China – the Dynasty Hotel in Zhaoqing – taken back in 2002. Hotels such as this provide a great refuge for expats living in China, especially those living in small to medium cities.

First What Is An ‘International’ Hotel?

I use the term international quite loosely. Some such hotels have ‘International’ in their title. Some do not. These hotels are typically 3.5 to 4 stars: nice hotels, but not quite as good (or international) as they think they are.

Foreigners may stay here when they come to town, but most of the clientele are Chinese, the management are Chinese and the way the hotel works is Chinese. There just may be the odd surprise in store for the foreigners.

Note: I’m talking about ‘international’ hotels outside of the largest Chinese cities. You’ll find true international hotels in Beijing and Shanghai.

The Expat’s Refuge

Any foreigner who’s lived in a small to medium sized Chinese city will know of a hotel that fits this mould – a place where you can ease out of everyday life in China and settle down in comfortable surroundings with a nice cold beer or an almost decent coffee along with some pseudo Western food.

Time in such establishments is part of the survival kit, helping maintain sanity when the absolute foreignness of everything around you becomes too much. I needed that regularly when I first started living in China, but it was more an occasional treat by the end. For many expats, this need doesn’t diminish.

The Dynasty Hotel 2002

When I first started living in China in 2002, my refuge was the Dynasty Hotel. There were other ‘international’ hotels in Zhoaqing, but this was one of the best (and the school I taught English at also happened to own it).

As you can see from the following photo, the inside of an ‘international’ hotel can be impressive:

A statue of Buddha, polished granite walls, impressive lighting effects, curved roof, palm trees etc. Looks lovely!

However, scratch the surface and it’s still very much Chinese. Look at the ceiling – you can see a lot of things that look like fire sprinklers. I’m not sure exactly what they are, but they’re not fire sprinklers. Also note the controls on the wall, which are more obtrusive than they need to be.

This is typical in China. Wiring and pipes are normally on the outside, rather than being built in. Even when they build a lovely looking hotel, you’ll find things tacked on that seem out of place.

Still, complaints aside, the overall feeling of this hotel is one of luxury, especially when compared to the city outside it’s doors.

The second shot is of the pool area, taken from inside the downstairs lounge:

The pool area is great, including an outside bar, several pools of varying depth and the little bridge you can see.

The lounge itself can seem like heaven. On a hot day (and it get’s very hot and sticky in Zhaoqing) you can sit in air-conditioned comfort, drinking ice cold beer (or freshly squeezed fruit juice, or semi decent coffee) and snacking on peanuts or dried peas. You can even order a pizza if you want. As I said, heaven!

Of course this is relative – for someone stepping off a plane from a Western nation, such a hotel wouldn’t seem impressive in anyway. But after you’ve been living in China for a while, well your viewpoint will change!

Needless to say, although we loved exploring the real China and eating at local restaurants, etc, this hotel became a refuge for me and the other expats I worked with.

If you’re an expat living in China, have you experienced something similar? What’s your local refuge?

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I said way back in December that expats are better off looking for a job in China than they would be back in their home lands. That obviously still holds true as the Huffington Post has just written an article titled Young Americans Going To China For Jobs.

Finding Jobs In China

The article cites the case of Mikala Reasbeck, who could only find a part time job after graduating from college in Boston (counting pills in a chemist at $7 an hour). What did she do? She went to Beijing, knowing that she’d have a better chance of finding a good job in China than she would in the US.

After one week looking for work, she had a full time job teaching English.

That won’t come as a surprise to anyone who’s lived in China – there are TEFL jobs (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) everywhere in China. What may come as a slight surprise is the salary she managed to get: 14,000 to 16,000 yuan per month. That’s pretty good for a TEFL position. There are definitely such jobs around, but it’s at the higher end of the market.

Mikala has a degree in writing, literature and publishing, but is not a qualified teacher so I’d say she’s been lucky. I’ve had a similar salary and I’m not qualified teacher either, but then I was teaching ICT. I’d been in the computer industry for 13 years when I got the job, including time spent as a trainer.

Mikala’s not alone – the article reports that many young foreigners, faced with bleak prospects in their own countries, are going to China to look for work. Although many are finding jobs such as teaching English, there’s a growing number who are finding professional positions in their favoured industry.

Getting A Visa

One interesting thing that the article pointed out was that China was preferred as a destination over some other countries, such as Russia and the EU, because it was easier to get a visa to work in China:

Employers need government permission to hire foreigners, but authorities promise an answer within 15 working days, compared with a wait of months or longer that might be required in some other countries.

The article does mention that visa restrictions were tightened ahead of the Beijing 2008 Olympics and while it doesn’t say whether they’ve subsequently been relaxed, it does say that there were more people holding a visa at the end of 2008 than there was at the end of 2007:

Some 217,000 foreigners held work permits at the end of 2008, up from 210,000 a year earlier, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Thousands more use temporary business visas and go abroad regularly to renew them

That would indicate that visa restrictions have been relaxed.

As it also says, there are many more people who do not have an official work permit (ie Z visa). It’s been that way for years. I don’t know of a foreigner in China who hasn’t worked on business visa (F visa) or even a tourist visa (L visa) at one point or another.

There are always issues related to visas when you have a job in China.

Many companies will give you an F visa to start with, then try to switch you over to a Z visa when you’re there. Sometimes it can be done, sometimes you have leave the country and re-enter (hands up all those who’ve had an unexpected holiday in Hong Kong!).

Last time I checked (2007), the rules were that you had to leave the country to change from an F visa to a Z visa. Of course rules change and local authorities sometime seem to be able to bend them (if the company is asking them in the right way).

Do You Need To Speak Chinese?

I don’t speak Chinese (well only a little), but I’ve never had any problems getting a job in China!

In my experience, Chinese language ability is not required for TEFL positions. I’m sure it would be seen as an added bonus, but 99% of people teaching in China either have very limited Chinese language abilities, or none at all. What they do know is usually only what they’ve picked up while they’ve been living in China – they couldn’t speak Chinese when they first arrived.

Of course, getting a professional job in China may be different, but there are possibilities for people who don’t speak Chinese. The article says:

While many jobs require at least a smattering of Chinese, some employers that need other skills are hiring people who do not speak the language.

It cites Bangyibang.com CEO, Grant Yu, who has said he may employ people who cannot speak Chinese if they have other skills:

I don’t believe language is the biggest obstacle in communication, as long as he or she has a strong learning ability.

It also mentions Feng Li, a partner in a private fund that invests in the mining industry, who is planning to recruit foreign employees to read legal documents and communicate with clients abroad.

Of course, the vast majority of professional job vacancies that I’ve seen do state that Mandarin is required, so I’m unsure how many professional vacancies there are that really don’t require Chinese language skills. It wouldn’t hurt to learn Chinese!

Shaun Rein, managing director of China Market Research Group, said that there is more competition for foreigners seeking employment in China, from the well educated, English-speaking Chinese youth of today:

You have a lot of Chinese from top universities who are making $500-$600 a month. Making a case that you are much better than they are is very hard.

In response to the issues of not speaking Chinese and the competition from Chinese graduates, I’ll come back to what I said in my December post:

If you have specialist expertise, you’ll be in demand.

China is still a great place to find a job.

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