Overseas NGOs increase according to report

Overseas nongovernmental organizations have set up 524 representative offices on the Chinese mainland, with about 2,400 programs underway according to the Blue Book of Philanthropy released on Sunday.

That was a significant increase compared to 2017, when 305 representative offices were present at the end of the year, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

The report, jointly released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Social Sciences Academic Press, and Lingshan Charity Foundation, said overseas NGOs are becoming an important driving force behind China’s fast-growing charity sector.

The report noted Beijing was the most favored registry location, with 165 such offices. Shanghai followed with 105 offices, alongside 37 in Guangdong, 28 in Yunnan and 24 in Sichuan. The five provincial-level regions together are home to more than 68 percent of all offices.

More than 40 percent of overeseas NGOs operating on the mainland are engaged in commerce, followed by those in education (9.9 percent), civil affairs (8.4 percent) and health (6.9 percent) sectors, it added.