Promising a Wonderful Life, China’s Hainan FTP is Recruiting Global Talents
By / / Updated: 22:19,26-October-2021

South China’s Hainan Free Trade Port launched a global talent recruitment fair in Haikou on October 24, signaling to the world that the island is eager to have more talented individuals settle here.

Compared with previous such activities, this recruitment activity is more flexible, has more and better defined job positions, has a greater range of potential targets, and will run for a longer period of time.

According to Xia Chenge (Deputy Director of the provincial Talent Development Bureau) the employers in the province who are currently looking for talented individuals and key personnel to fill more than 36,000 job openings include universities, scientific research institutes, key laboratories, hospitals, state-owned enterprises, key project platforms and industrial parks. Among the total job postings, there are more than 100 with an annual salary in excess of CNY 1 million.

As for the Hainan Free Trade Port’s 11 key industrial parks, they are hoping to fill 11,496 job vacancies. Signifying the island province’s demand for professional and technical personnel, these postings—at around 30% of the total number of openings—show a significant increase over previous such activities in both the number of positions and the quality of those positions.

According to Director Xia, many of these positions are oriented towards people from overseas or with overseas experience. In addition, this recruitment activity's introduction of talented personnel is obviously industry oriented, with the focus being on the province's leading industries (i.e. tourism, the modern service industry, and high-tech, efficient tropical agriculture). This then provides for a step forward to be taken in building a solid foundation for the development of the Hainan FTP.

Foreign Talents “Full of Enthusiasm” for Hainan

Kingsford Kyremateng, a businessman from Ghana, said that he came to Hainan 4 years ago after being introduced to the island province by a friend who had already lived here for 6 years. Currently engaged in the import and export of goods (such as locally produced handmade black soap) between Hainan and his home continent of Africa, Kingsford has also considered other products such as fruit oils. “The Hainan Free Trade Port is providing all sorts of good opportunities and preferential tariffs. This also means that the products I sell have a huge price advantage." Mr. Kyremateng said he is optimistic about Hainan’s future tourism consumption market, and hopes that it will gradually stabilize. However, he expressed that, he is very concerned about the current practice of only giving him 3 months validity each time he renews his residence permit. In order to effectively carry out commercial trade, and to establish a firm foothold in Hainan, he hopes that more can be done to meet the needs of foreign entrepreneurs in terms of visas and residence permits. 

Brazilian businesswoman Marla Naumann came to Hainan last year for a project in Chengmai County. “My two partners and I are mainly engaged in the energy business. Our primary focus is on renewables. However, our project is still in its infancy.” she said. Providing a relatively new entrepreneurial environment, Ms. Naumann sees the construction of the FTP as an opportunity. 

Archawir Istanbulian (or “Archie”) is a businessman from Canada. He told reporters that he only arrived in Hainan a few months ago and that, in these few months, he has come to really like living here. Archie’s current company is primarily engaged in industrial design of service products including furniture, various daily consumer goods, and medical supplies. “Right now I still don’t know enough about Hainan to really say anything. I’m still trying to get a decent understanding of the environment and conditions in Hainan, and particularly the unique policies of the Hainan Free Trade Port. Only then will I be able to operate properly."  

Ariana—another businesswoman from Brazil—said that she started Zeus Sports Consulting last year with the goal of promoting Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in China. "This sport is already well-known and popular in other countries but it is not yet so well known in China. The combination of the construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port and a tropical climate similar to my home country should make this a good base for the promotion and development of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu throughout the country." Ariana hopes that her company will be able to push forward the development of an international sports and entertainment culture in Hainan.

Timothy Stephens is a general practitioner from the United States who has been working and living in Hainan for the past 8 years. Per the introduction of a friend living here at the time, he gave up a high-paying career in the United States to come to the island with his family in 2013. Now working at the Haikou Municipal People’s Hospital in the primary care department, Dr. Tim—as he is called—says that Hainan has more to attract foreigners than just an excellent ecological environment. The rapidly increasing level of medical internationalization (seen in the form of latest foreign medicines, vaccines, and medical technologies being introduced at the Bo’ao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone in accordance with the special policies of the Hainan Free Trade Port and the establishment of international medical departments by theseveral public hospitals in Haikou and Sanya) is a huge plus. He also likes that non-Chinese citizens are now capable of buying high-speed rail tickets online and directly scanning their passport to enter the station, and he praised the Haikou Municipal Government’s service "one-stop service desk" as efficient and convenient... "I just recently got my permanent residence permit. It is a great honor for us to receive the warm welcome of the Chinese people and to call Hainan our new home. I have already sensed the huge potential for future growth and development here. Welcome you to come and experience for yourself the natural beauty, wonderful people, and healthy lifestyle here and join the exciting work that has already begun to create a better Hainan." said Dr. Tim.

"We have lived in China for 6 years from Beijing to Shanghai and now Haikou.What attracted us to Hainan was the island life which provides clean air, warm weather and plenty of outdoor activities.,” said. American Kelly Wailes, principal of Haikou Harrow International School. She said that: "Speaking of international influence, with the Free Trade Port policies more and more foreign talent and foreign investors can come to the island to capitalise on and develop international companies. Me along, with Harrow Haikou, are shinning examples of the sincerity the FTP and Hainan have to attracting talents and international investors to the island all of which will further enhance the economy and offer more and more opportunities in the future. "

Starting from 2018, Hainan has successively formulated and introduced a series of policies on talent taxation, settlement, real estate purchases, automobile purchases, children's schooling, and medical insurance.

In terms of taxation, for high-end talented individuals and people working in Hainan who are desperately needed for the development of the FTP, the actual tax burden of personal income tax cannot exceed 15%. Anything above that is exempt.

Next is the evaluation mechanism. Talents are divided into five categories: A, B, C, D, and E which uses the market-recognized salary tax level as the general standard, but which is also based on the person’s standing within their professional community and social recognition in terms of experience, work performance, honorary titles and other conditions. These standards allow for the accurate classification and evaluation of talents to be carried out.

Foreign personnel in Hainan are now allowed to participate in 38 professional qualification examinations including those for becoming registered architects and licensed pharmacists. At the same time a total of 219 different professional qualifications from overseas are now recognized throughout the province.

As the fourth aspect, project support is another key item. Projects such as the "Thousand Talents Special" talent introduction plan, the "Nanhai Series" talent training plan, and the "Double Hundred" talent team construction project provide for subsidies of as much as CNY 30 million.

The fifth aspect, talent settlement, recognizes high-level talents and highly-skilled talents, as well as people from schools which are part of the Double First-Class University Plan, and graduates who have returned to China after studying overseas. It is possible for talents to choose to apply for settlement in any town on Hainan's main island. Within three years of leaving school, graduates with a bachelor’s degree or above can first settle in the province and then find employment while still enjoying the preferential policies for encouraging talents to settle in Hainan.

In terms of the medical security, foreign talents and their spouses, immediate family members and service personnel—regardless of nationality or household registration—can enjoy the same basic medical insurance provided to urban and rural residents of Hainan. For high-level talents working full-time in Hainan commercial health group insurance (which will protect them for medical emergencies above and beyond that which is covered by basic insurance) can be bought for between CNY 3,000 and CNY 10,000 yuan per person per year. 

This recruitment activity will continue till June next year, and job seekers can log in to the official website (www.ihnhr.com) to search for positions and submit résumés.

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