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.