Challenges

For international graduates, both opportunities and challenges exist while starting a career in China, according to insiders.

With China’s opening up to the outside world, international graduates with fluency in both their mother tongues and Chinese are in big demand. But for those who don’t speak Chinese, getting employment information can be a major headache as many job hunting websites are only in Chinese.

“Now there are less restrictions for foreign students. I hope there will be more information channels for us. It would be quite good if there was a multi-language website that can help students find jobs, especially for foreigners,” said Lawal. He hopes more professional and targeted employment services will be provided for foreign students.

In addition, due to the increasing number of university graduates annually, students in China are facing fiercer competition for jobs. According to the Ministry of Education, a total of 7.95 million college students are expected to graduate in 2017 (almost the same number as the population of South Sudan), 300,000 more than in 2016. Obviously this means that not only local graduates, but also foreign graduates are finding the job market tough.

But experts are still optimistic about international students seeking careers in China.

“China has a stable society and friendly people. Here, foreign students have enough space to develop their careers and realize personal values,” said Yu Lijun, Director of the Department of International Affairs, University of International Business and Economics.

Yu suggested that foreign graduates should be goal-oriented when searching for jobs in China. “As long as you [international students] seize the opportunities and make full use of your advantages in language, you will have promising job prospects in China,” he said.

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