Find a Job in China in 2024: Companies Hiring Foreigners in China

by Savannah Billman October 13, 2023

Are you wondering how to find a job in China? There are thousands of Chinese companies looking to hire international talent, and hundreds more foreign companies based in China.

Your experience in a Chinese university, language abilities, international work experience, and cross-cultural communication skills can all make you a desirable candidate.

Please note, China Admissions is not a visa service and cannot help you get a visa. But, if you are a student, we can help you get admissions to Chinese universities and learn more about life in China.

If you are looking to work / study in other countries, you can see the list of policies by different countries on Global Admissions here.

To start looking for a job in China, read on: we have plenty of resources and guides to help you.

Contents hide

1 Register for Updates About Careers in China

2 Do I need to know Chinese before working at a company in China?

3 How can I get an internship in China?

4 Where can I look to find a job in China?

5 How do I sign an employment contract with a Chinese company?

6 Can I work in China as a student?

7 What’s the difference between internship, work-study, and full-time work?

8 Can students work in China after graduating from a Chinese University?

9 How do I find a teaching job in China?

10 How do I get a work visa?

11 Before you go…We Are Hiring!

12 Find a Job in China: Companies Hiring Foreigners in China 2024

12.1 Technology/Internet/Social Media/E-commerce

12.2 Finance/Accounting/VC

12.3 Engineering/Manufacturing/Chemicals/Energy

12.4 PR/Consultancy/Human Resources/Consumer Goods

12.5 Research/Nonprofit/Environmental

12.6 Marketing/Advertising/Writing/Editing/Media/Translation

12.7 Entertainment/Restaurant/Beauty/Tourism/Hospitality

12.8 Nursing/Healthcare/Hospital/Pharmacy/BioMedical

12.9 Education

13 Questions

Register for Updates About Careers in China

Do I need to know Chinese before working at a company in China?

Not necessarily! Chinese language proficiency may not be a job requirement. BUT, knowing Chinese can help you immensely in your job search. Hiring managers will see that you are committed to and understand the local markets, and it is a HUGE asset for them to know you can talk with Chinese colleagues and business partners. If your Chinese is quite good, you can also apply for jobs in Chinese-speaking firms, doubling the places you can look for a new career.

To sum up, knowing Chinese will help you qualify for more jobs, impress recruiters, and have more career advancement opportunities. If you can, we highly recommend aiming for at least basic Chinese skills!

If you want to start learning business Chinese to help you find a job in China, check out our dozens of online course options here.

How can I get an internship in China?

If you want to know about finding an internship with a Chinese company, read our guide here.

Where can I look to find a job in China?

You may use sites like LinkedIn, eChina Careers, eChinaCities, Laowai Career, and SmartShanghai to find open positions. Scroll down to see our own curated list.

If you have good Chinese (HSK 5+ is recommended to do business in Chinese), you can check Chinese platforms and apps like Boss直聘, 51Job, 松鼠招聘 (app), Job5156.com, or LinkedIn’s Chinese app 领英职场.

In China, personal connections and chat groups are your best friend when looking for a job. Join job search WeChat groups for even more options.

Listen to Marina Cao, Talent Acquisition Consultant Leader of HelloCareer, discuss best practices and advice when job searching in China:

Subscribe for more interesting videos about China here:

How do I sign an employment contract with a Chinese company?

Read our guide here.

Can I work in China as a student?

Yes, but you can only work limited hours and only part-time. Recent policies enacted in January 2022 allow international students who are enrolled at a higher-education institution to take part-time work-study jobs. You will need to register your work-study at the local Exit-Entry Bureau.

You can read the details about this policy here.

What’s the difference between internship, work-study, and full-time work?

	Visa Type	Paid or not?	Length of time	Eligibility	Best suited for
Internship	X1 or X2, or S	Sometimes paid	Usually a few months	Students can intern	Students wanting professional experience
Work-Study	X1 or X2	Paid according to local minimum wage	No more than 1 year	Students can work-study	Students wanting extra income
Full-time job	Z	Paid according to contracted salary	According to work contract	Non-students	Non-students seeking full time employment

Can students work in China after graduating from a Chinese University?

In general, you will either need two years of work experience or a Master’s degree or higher to be able to start working in China right after graduation. Read the complete guide, including the relevant laws and personal advice from my own experience, here: 4 Tips to Enter the Chinese Job Market for Remote Students

Even if you’re studying remotely, you can still prepare to enter the job market in China.

How do I find a teaching job in China?

You can check our complete guide to the teaching industry here: Hot Jobs in 2022: Teaching Jobs in China

How do I get a work visa?

After you find a full-time job in China, the work visa will need to be negotiated with your company after you are hired. Because of Covid-19 travel restrictions, this process may be more complicated. Check with the Chinese embassy in your country, hiring manager, or recruiter if you will need a work visa to enter China.

The visa types:

Z-visas are issued to foreigners who are going to China for a paid job offer or to undertake commercial entertainment performances in China, the most appropriate visas for full-time work with a Chinese company.
F-visas are issued to a foreign citizen who is invited to China for a visit, research, lecture, business, exchanges in the fields of science, technology or culture, advanced study, for a period of no more than 6 months.
M Visa is issued to those who are going to China for commercial and trade activities (i.e. attending trade fairs, visiting factories, and other short-term business trips).
L-visas (Tourist) are strictly for tourism and should not be used for work/internships.
X-visas (Student), especially long-term ones, are the most appropriate visas for internships.
S-visas are for internships in certain high-tech zones.

If you are a student, check out our Covid & Online Classes Update as well as our Global Admissions Tracker.

Before you go…We Are Hiring!

Would you like to join our team at China Admissions? Work for a fast-growing international company that is connecting foreign students to Chinese Universities.

Join a team of smart ambitious people
Opportunity – we are a fast-growing startup and there are lots of opportunities as we expand and develop
It matters – we are making a difference.
Fun – we work hard and play hard.
Growth – opportunities for personal growth

Check out our open positions here!

Find a Job in China: Companies Hiring Foreigners in China 2024

Check out our list of companies here.

Note: this list is not exhaustive as companies constantly update their job postings. But it is a good starting point to find your dream China job!

Technology/Internet/Social Media/E-commerce

One of the most newsworthy and hottest market sectors to work in right now, the Chinese tech scene is booming. New technologies and social media trends like livestreaming, AI, and Big Data are changing the field forever. With plenty of investment into these companies, analysts predict that Chinese tech, social media, and e-commerce giants are a force to be reckoned with, competing not only against domestic firms but also against the likes of Western industry giants like Microsoft and Apple.

Finance/Accounting/VC

As of 2021, China represents 40% of all global venture capital (VC) investments, close behind Silicon Valley’s 44%, and its firms are investing across South and Southeast Asia. Like the saying “follow the money,” those in the financial industry are looking to China for the future of capital flows.

Engineering/Manufacturing/Chemicals/Energy

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has set strategic goals to develop into a manufacturing powerhouse from 2021 to 2025, meaning that this sector is set to experience rapid growth over the next few years in line with eco-friendly and carbon-neutral goals. “The added industrial value of the Chinese manufacturing sector grew from 16.98 trillion yuan (about 2.63 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2012 to 26.6 trillion yuan in 2020. The figure gives Chinese manufacturers a 30-percent-share of the global total-added industrial value,” according to China.org.cn.

PR/Consultancy/Human Resources/Consumer Goods

Working in this field, you will be the front line between consumers and businesses. PR in China was worth 62.7 billion RMB in 2018, and the Management Consulting market size in China is $32.7 billion USD. Consumer goods and sales are rebounding after the Covid-19 pandemic, reaching new heights with retail sales of consumer goods totaling 21.19 trillion yuan ($3.27 trillion) in the first half of 2021, according to China Daily.

Research/Nonprofit/Environmental

Research and nonprofit work opportunities across China will allow you to learn a lot about the country and contribute to solving social problems through building a better and more informed future. Career options include researcher, program officer, resource development, and more.

In particular, the environmental sector is going to be a huge focus in the coming years as China aims to “green” its economy through eco-friendly choices. China has more than 2,000 species of terrestrial vertebrates, more than 10 percent of the world’s total, and is one of the world’s “megadiverse” countries.

Marketing/Advertising/Writing/Editing/Media/Translation

Writers and designers have plenty of options in China. In addition to these specialized media and advertising companies, most Chinese companies will have a need for an effective editor, translator, copywriter, or marketing specialist on staff. Chinese proficiency will especially help you here since you will be ideally placed to research on and advertise to Chinese markets.

Entertainment/Restaurant/Beauty/Tourism/Hospitality

As Chinese consumers’ taste for high-quality dining and travel experience increases, so do opportunities in this sector. Theme parks like Shanghai Disney and Universal Studios Beijing have introduced an international standard of entertainment to Chinese domestic tourists, trends like “glamping” (glamorous and fancy camping) are taking off on social media, and appetite for luxury goods continues to grow. The Global Times reports, “According to a report issued by Bain & Company, China’s luxury goods market will likely achieve 48 percent growth in 2020 and will be worth nearly 346 billion yuan.”

Nursing/Healthcare/Hospital/Pharmacy/BioMedical

After the Covid-19 pandemic, China’s healthcare industry evolved rapidly with new trends: digital healthcare, adoption of big data technologies, increased spending from the middle class, and a new focus on increasing the quality of primary care hospitals. China’s healthcare industry is second only to the US. (Source)

Education

Teaching jobs are plentiful in China. English teaching jobs usually require you to be a native speaker and have an English teaching certificate like the TEFL. If you have a master’s degree this will not only increase your chances of finding a position but also your salary.

But education isn’t limited to just English teaching (though this can be quite popular!). Work opportunities in the education sector are expanding as China’s domestic education quality increases. Foreign languages, extracurricular courses, cultural education, and administration are all growing sectors.

Questions

Do you have any questions? Let us know in the comments below.

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Savannah Billman

Savannah Billman has a master's degree in Chinese Law and Society at the Yenching Academy of Peking University. She holds a B.A. from NYU Shanghai and has also written for The World of Chinese, TechNode, SupChina, and Sixth Tone.

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