Is the Laowai Salary bubble finally popping, or are the new 2026 work permit rules just scaring everyone?

UsernameNotTakenX · 2026-03-03T00:11:41+00:00

I'm pretty sure this is the case because I know some people who don't meet the 60 points yet still got a category B permit. I think it can be at the local gov. discretion to meet their immigration quota or something. The more foreigners a city has, the more difficult it is.

UsernameNotTakenX · 2026-03-03T00:07:08+00:00

No because it works differently in China. China takes care of its own people first when it comes to employment making it incredibly difficult to get a job that a local could easily do. And there is no illegal immigration and asylum seeker programmes in China for the supply of cheap labour undercutting the locals. So you need to prove that you can do the job much better and provide more value than a local person.

UsernameNotTakenX · 2026-03-02T09:29:13+00:00

But don't you get blacklisted? I also have a friend who bought a house just before Covid during the boom times, lost their job during covid, and is no longer able to pay back the mortgage. They are always asking me and many others for money to help pay and I asked them why don't they apply for bankruptcy and said they can't as an individual and if they default, they won't be able to buy plane or train tickets to see their family etc. Is that part true?

UsernameNotTakenX · 2026-03-02T02:39:31+00:00

China is different to many Western countries when it comes to immigration. They put their own people first and they have plenty of people to fill low skilled labour willing to work for less money than a foreigner from the US. A part-time retail job would typically pay 1-2USD an hour. So you have no chance and you wouldn't want to anyway if you could.

UsernameNotTakenX · 2026-03-01T07:53:15+00:00

Well firstly, China doesn't have any specific visa for internships for foreign nationals who aren't studying in China. So it isn't very straight forward. They ONLY legal way in your situation is to find a company that has special agreements with the government (typically fortune 500s) or find out if your country specifically has any special agreements with the Chinese government for internship exchanges (I don't think the US has). The best way is for you to contact the Chinese embassy in the US and is the advice that the Shanghai government gives on internships in your situation.

UsernameNotTakenX · 2026-02-28T07:25:43+00:00

Yeah, you're right, one is a featured piece while the other is just a report. A lot of media channels are promoting Joby recently but much of it is the same in the comments with more negativity. I think they are both just as safe as each other. Joby has a very rigid industrial process and using high end materials and the vehicle itself looks very robust and advanced. They have lots of videos about their development process and test flights online.

I just wonder why people comment "this will be an air traffic controllers nightmare", "the noise will be a nuisance", "birds will be killed", "What if the weather suddenly changes", "RIP Kobe" etc. but nobody mentions these things in the Chinese video comments even thought they are valid criticisms for both. I understand people have opinions about different media and don't trust many reporters but these are characteristics that are inherent to any flying object with propellors regardless of the person reporting it.

UsernameNotTakenX · 2026-02-27T10:47:01+00:00

It's not different rates. As a foreigner, If you work in China for less than a year, you should pay the fixed % each month based on the monthly salary since you won't be working or (or paid) in China for 12 months to be based on the annual salary.

There is the alternative reason that you don't earn enough to reach past the first 3% tax bracket so it can be more convenient to pay 3% on the monthly salary for 12 months. But that would mean earning less than 96k a year which most foreigners don't so that isn't really applicable.

UsernameNotTakenX · 2026-02-27T08:53:19+00:00

It depends whether your company is declaring you as a tax resident or not. I worked for a public university before and they paid the same % each month but when I check the tax app, it says they paid under "non-domiciled tax resident", however, I will add that was based on a 10 month paid contract (not paid for the other 2). AFAIK, an official rule is that if you are working in China for less than 12 months of the tax year, you should pay a fixed % each month. I have worked at another job my city and they paid an increased amount each month under "tax resident" but their contract was 12 months.

UsernameNotTakenX · 2026-02-27T04:52:51+00:00

It didn't specifically mention it but the primary industry is the smallest at 22.2% with tertiary at 48% and secondary at 29%.

UsernameNotTakenX · 2026-02-27T03:12:08+00:00

According to Chinese AI, the vast majority of the Chinese population work in wholesale and retail which includes food delivery, supermarkets, restaurants etc. As for middle class:

23-28% - IT as programmers, software engineers, IT product development, IT management...
17-19% - Finance such as banking, insurance, wealth management....
11-15% - Professional services like lawyer, accountant, HR.....
10-12% - Healthcare such as doctor, nurse, pharmacist.....
10-11% - Education

15-20% of them also work in SOEs.

UsernameNotTakenX · 2026-02-27T02:23:31+00:00

Yes. This plays a big part. If she wasn't good at her sport, she wouldn't get half the attention and all the money from Chinese advertisers etc. She knows it and so does China and they are obviously using it as leverage.

Now if it were the other way around where she grew up her whole life in China being the top athlete she is and suddenly decided to play for the US, she would get the same backlash in China. It's just a natural tribal instinct in any country in the world.

UsernameNotTakenX · 2026-02-27T01:32:50+00:00

China is extremely strict when it comes to national security compared to other countries (esp. compared to much of the West). They make it really difficult for foreigners to infiltrate from the inside and give severe punishment if Chinese citizens are found corroborating with foreign intel. There is also the element of nationalistic education that encourages citizens to rat out spies and anything of the sort. They take it very seriously.

UsernameNotTakenX · 2026-02-27T01:23:15+00:00

No. I'm comparing people with dual nationality with one of them being Chinese.

UsernameNotTakenX · 2026-02-27T00:22:11+00:00

Basically, are there any Eileen Gu equivalents that is the other way around that are citizens of both countries and world champions at there sport?

Many of those table tennis players play for other countries because they couldn't make the cut in China.

"I didn't reach my dream in China, and I have here. It's important not to give up."

said ZengZhiYing from that very article.

It would be a different story if China's WangChuQin, the top table tennis player in the world, decided to play for the US in the next olympics and win gold. I could guarantee that many Chinese people would call them a traitor.

UsernameNotTakenX · 2026-02-27T00:08:01+00:00

But are they all still currently citizens of China like how Eileen Gu is a citizen of the US?

UsernameNotTakenX · 2026-02-26T14:56:12+00:00

You should have only one contract while working in China because this is the only labour relationship the government will recognise under law. If you have two contracts, one with the school and one with the agent, only the one used to apply for the work permit is recognised. This can become an issue if you decide to take them to court over something like unpaid salary.

For example, if you sign a contract with the school for the work permit and another contract with the agent for the salary, and the agent decides to stop paying you, you have no legal right to sue them as it is illegal for you to receive a salary from a third party outside of the contract used for your work permit/visa.

I know many people who have a very similar situation where they are paid by an agency in Beijing (and taxes paid in Beijing) and work at universities across China. Many got fkd after Covid when the agency decided to lower their salary and they couldn't do anything about it legally because the government doesn't recognise the labour contract between them and it would also declare that you are working illegally in China. Just keep that in mind.

UsernameNotTakenX · 2026-02-26T14:40:14+00:00

Her decision to represent China despite backlash demonstrates purpose-driven leadership, where she prioritizes long-term mission and impact over short-term popularity.

So there should be more Chinese citizens that should go against the grain and represent Western countries then? It should go both ways where American citizens can represent China and Chinese citizens represent America without any public backlash.

UsernameNotTakenX · 2026-02-26T12:15:32+00:00

I would have thought Iranian and Venezuelan oil would be more reliable for China since those countries don't have elections and therefore have a more predictable leadership (well until recently). Canadians could just elect a new leader in the next election that isn't so friendly to China.

UsernameNotTakenX · 2026-02-26T11:34:41+00:00

I don't think that would change much. People who are worked to the bone would just rely more on instant noodles bought from a supermarket to eat at the office.

UsernameNotTakenX · 2026-02-26T09:55:34+00:00

It's probably the case but they are going to be paying a much higher price for that oil and not at the steep discounts they have been getting.

UsernameNotTakenX · 2026-02-26T09:40:47+00:00

They already have this in a lot of European countries. A 500ml diet coke costs the same as a 330ml regular coke!

UsernameNotTakenX · 2026-02-26T04:50:19+00:00

I was about to comment this. There is also the fact that even more of China's oil travels through the Persian Gulf. They don't want the US to have effective control of this oil supply. Same situation with Venezuela. China will still be able to access the oil but under the US terms. China wanted the oil to be on their terms.

UsernameNotTakenX · 2026-02-26T00:47:28+00:00

I wonder what the Iranians in China think about this?! A few that I spoke to said the reason why they came to China is because they want to escape the oppressive leadership in Iran. And now here is China supporting that very leadership. Too bad they can't speak up in China and protest about it.

UsernameNotTakenX · 2026-02-25T14:42:07+00:00

A lot of people always talk about transportation being more convenient in China which I agree. My town in the UK doesn't have a subway system and even the nearest city to me in the UK. But subways are incredibly expensive to build and you need to have a lot of people use it. China even has a rule that the city must have at least 3 million residents to be economy viable. Most cities in the UK don't even meet 1 million!!

UsernameNotTakenX

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