The Foreign Talent Research Center of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security released the “Survey Findings of 2024 Amazing China – The Most Attractive Chinese Cities in the Eyes of Foreign Talents –The Foreign Talent Attraction Index of Chinese Cities” at the 2025 Hangzhou International Human Resources Exchange and Cooperation Conference in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, on September 28 (COURTESY PHOTO) 

On September 28，the Foreign Talent Research Center of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security released the “Survey Findings of 2024 Amazing China – The Most Attractive Chinese Cities in the Eyes of Foreign Talents –The Foreign Talent Attraction Index of Chinese Cities” at the 2025 Hangzhou International Human Resources Exchange and Cooperation Conference. 

This survey was conducted in 64 cities in China’s mainland that have high concentrations of foreign talent and received 5,487 responses. To create the index, the study quantitatively analyzed the evaluations of foreign talents from three dimensions: work satisfaction, living convenience and environmental friendliness.  

Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin municipalities, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai in Guangdong Province; Nanjing, Suzhou and Changzhou in Jiangsu Province; Hangzhou and Ningbo in Zhejiang Province; Jinan and Qingdao in Shandong Province, Chengdu in Sichuan Province, Wuhan in Hubei Province, Xiamen in Fujian Province, Dalian in Liaoning Province, Changsha in Hunan Province, Kunming in Yunnan Province and Haikou in Hainan Province are the Top 20 cities of the 2024 Foreign Talent Attraction Index. 

Besides the supercities and megacities, distinctive large and medium-sized cities are increasingly becoming favored destinations for foreign talents (According to the urban classification standards, large and medium-sized cities refer to those with a permanent urban population of 500,000 to 5,000,000). The Top 10 cities in the Foreign Talent Attraction Index of Chinese Large and Medium-Sized Cities are Haikou, Zhuhai, Changzhou, Baoding in Hebei Province, Wuxi in Jiangsu Province; Yantai, Weihai and Weifang in Shandong Province; and Yiwu and Shaoxing in Zhejiang Province. This index was released for the first time this year. 

Based on the three sub-indices of work satisfaction, living convenience, and environmental friendliness, the study also released the Top 20 cities recognized by foreign talent as the “City of Opportunities,” “City of Livability” and “City of Inclusion.” Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou and Suzhou are the Top 5 cities of “City of Opportunities.” Beijing, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu are the Top 5 cities in the “City of Livability” category. Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou, Guangzhou and Suzhou are the Top 5 cities of the “City of Inclusion.” 

Xu Jiajun, Deputy Director-General of the Foreign Talent Research Center, presented the index and noted the following characteristics. 

Xu Jiajun, Deputy Director-General of the Foreign Talent Research Center of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security presents the Most Attractive Chinese Cities in the Eyes of Foreign Talents –The Foreign Talent Attraction Index of Chinese Cities” in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, on September 28 (COURTESY PHOTO) 

First, the top-ranked cities are concentrated within city clusters, which closely aligns with China’s strategic layout of building talent centers and innovation hubs. The top 20 cities remain consistently distributed across the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Area, the Yangtze River Delta, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle. Beijing and Shanghai have maintained the top two positions for the fifth consecutive year. Notably, Chengdu broke into the top five for the first time, while central Chinese cities, including Wuhan and Changsha, demonstrated growing attraction. 

Second, Chinese cities have developed differentiated competitiveness in attracting talent, leveraging their comparative advantages. Guangzhou, Hangzhou, and Shenzhen are attracting talent through emerging industries such as new energy and artificial intelligence. The Hainan Free Trade Port is enhancing its attraction with open financial and trade policies. Meanwhile, Yiwu, known as the world’s largest hub for small commodities, has become a notable cluster for foreign talent. 

Third, economic development and living convenience are the two primary factors that foreign talent considers when choosing a Chinese city. The social environment received the highest level of satisfaction compared to the work and living environment. Around 90 percent of respondents expressed satisfaction with digital services, transportation and housing. Satisfaction with medical services has continued to grow steadily for the third consecutive year. Over 70 percent of respondents were satisfied with their children’s educational conditions. Ninety percent were relatively happy with public security, while 80 percent considered cities culturally inclusive. 

Fourth, career development opportunities and the labor rights and interests protections have continued to improve foreign talent’s evaluation of the work environment. The degree of smooth performance of employment contracts has increased by nearly 3.5 percent compared to the previous year. More than 80 percent of foreign talents believe Chinese cities offer good working resources, and an equal proportion of respondents indicate that they can realize their personal value.  

Fifth, the implementation of the facilitation policies for foreigners has received a favorable response. Eighty percent of the surveyed talents think the foreign talent policies are attractive. The “Join in Card” has been highly praised by foreign talents and employers. Nearly 90 percent of foreign talents think the entry and exit procedures are convenient, while over half say the processing of work and residence permits is more convenient than last year. 

First conducted in 2010, the “Amazing China” survey project has been carried out for 15 years. This project will provide support and recommendations for local governments to innovate talent policies, improve living and working environments for foreign talents, and contribute to accelerating China’s development as a talent center and innovation hub. It has received support from the administering authority for foreign experts’ affairs nationwide. The Foreign Talent Research Center and the team from Beijing University of Technology jointly completed the data statistics and numerical calculations. 

This project will provide support and recommendations for local governments to innovate talent policies, improve living and working environments for foreign talents, and contribute to accelerating China’s development as a talent center and innovation hub.