Why consider foreigners as citizens?

Recently two topics have been warmly discussed among the expat community in China. One is the country's social security program covering foreign workers, which took effect in July last year. The other is permanent residency, which is sparingly granted to a small number of foreigners.

Many people, Chinese as well as non-Chinese, put both things in the same bag: they think that if you have the latter, you automatically enjoy the benefits of the former, and that if you contribute to the former, you should enjoy the second.

The permanent residence card allows the owner to get in and out of China without a visa. Permanent residence can be granted to individuals who are considered valuable talents necessary for China's development; to investors (and their families) of a substantial amount in the country's economy; to people who have made an outstanding contribution to the development of China and the cooperation between nations; and to an overseas member of a Chinese family, when the family is willing to take financial responsibility for that foreign relative.

But the Chinese residence permit is not associated with any monetary advantages such as insurance, pensions or allowances. It consists only of the right to remain in the country, even without a work contract, which is the requirement otherwise.

"This is not fair!" complain many expats, who argue that China should support the housing, healthcare and transportation, among other things, of those the country decides to grant permanent residence to.

But China has a population of more than 1.3 billion. Its medical system and pension plan are still being developed. How can the State take charge of foreign citizens? China is not an immigration country. No one is forced to come to work here, if we come, it is because we want to come.

In countries where immigrants can apply for a green card after working for a certain number of years, the workers have first to be acknowledged as a "landed immigrant" so they have the right to work, and they must satisfy a series of conditions including contributing to social security programs.

I think it was a good decision for the government to include the foreign workers into the Chinese social net last year, even though it is not related to permanent residence. However, several expats I know said they don't want to pay the extra charges.

China is not trying to profit from foreign workers. The system, still pending, is still under international negotiations to avoid foreign workers being doubly charged, and to arrange for the pension to be paid when one leaves the country or the payments to be redeemed.

In 2005, permanent residence was introduced by the Chinese government as a means of luring foreign talent and attracting national scholars working overseas to return home. The 2010 census recorded nearly 600,000 foreigners living in China; approximately 231,700 of them with work permits. According to China Daily, as of May 26, 721 foreigners had obtained permanent residence status in Beijing, and a total of 4,752 nationwide since 2005.

Now that China is involving foreign workers in the social security system, it is normal that those who pay can benefit from medical insurance and a pension. Retired foreigners with permanent residence are not included in the program. They have to pay taxes on any occasional earnings the same as any other citizen, but as they don't contribute to a Chinese social security plan, they obviously don't get any allowances. So remaining in China is a personal choice.

Some people say that there are many illegal workers in China because the work visa is too difficult to obtain. But if a foreigner is qualified for a post, and if there is no Chinese qualified to fill it, the authorities will issue a work visa to the foreigner according to the country's needs.

It's true that China doesn't provide permanent residence permits easily, and doesn't financially support those who are granted them, but as the country with the largest population in the world, China has to achieve its own development while taking care of its own population first.

I don't see any reason why China should expand its permanent residence program to more expats, or let those who have the status enjoy social security for free.

The author is a Canadian scholar in Beijing.

(China Daily 06/27/2012 page11)