China: The number one spot to send expats?

Are expats over the U.S.?

Ok, that might be a little extreme, but research from AXA suggests that China is expected to surpass the U.S. as the top spot for international expansion within the next five years.

Today, the U.S. leads the pack as the primary destination for companies to send employees, with China coming in second and Germany third. But we may all need to brush up on our Mandarin, as by 2022, China is expected to become the most popular destination for employees to work on long-term contracts. France, Russia and Japan are all expected to climb the rankings as well to place just behind the U.S.

What does this mean for companies in the U.S.? Well, for one, it’s time to become a whole lot more familiar with China. Companies that are new to the Chinese employment market will need to take deliberate action to adapt their work culture and prepare their expats for life in China. The business culture, expectations, working style and motivators are all very different from Western countries, and adjusting to that kind of change takes time. That’s not even to mention the compliance issues – what kind of VPN can our employees use? Can they access our data or do we need to create work-arounds? What’s a fapiao? All of these are great questions that executive teams around the world will be asking themselves, and we’re excited to continue leading our clients into this dynamic market.

For a leg up on how to do business in China, check out this Relo Tip video from Plus.