While Trump curbs immigration, China’s giving out more green cards … but can it attract more foreigners?

As US President Donald Trump attempts to curb immigration, China is trying to boost the issuance of green cards to foreigners – although from a base just 0.05 per cent of America’s.

According to the latest figures published by the US Department of Homeland Security, there were 13.1 million green card holders in the United States at the start of 2013, almost two-thirds of whom had acquired permanent residency in the previous 13 years. By way of contrast, in the first 10 years of mainland China’s green card scheme, starting in 2004, only 7,356 foreigners were granted permanent residency even though an estimated 600,000 foreigners live there.

Although the Chinese authorities said a year ago they were easing the rules to make it easier for foreigners from a broader range of professions to apply for permanent residency, experts say the threshold remains high and that Chinese green cards offer only limited practical benefits.

President Xi Jinping told a meeting in Beijing on February 6 that China should reform its permanent residency regime. The same day the Ministry of Public Security reported that 1,576 foreigners had become permanent residents of mainland China last year, 163 per cent more than in 2015.

The next day, People’s Daily reported that a new version of the Chinese green card, with enhanced security features, would be released later this year.

A State Council directive in February last year relaxed China’s green card rules, extending eligibility for permanent residency to foreigners working in a greater range of fields, including those working at national laboratories, engineering research centres, the technology centres of state-accredited hi-tech companies and foreign-funded research and development centres. Until last year, only foreigners who worked in government departments or laboratories involved in “key national projects” could apply for permanent residency in mainland China.