The results of this experiment were not promising. Not one of my resumes received a call for an interview. Therefore, I believe that finding employment in Beijing is difficult, if not impossible to find from inside Beijing. It is easier to join a company from your home country and then be sent to Beijing. In fact, that is what many expatriates in Beijing do.

Many people who come here on their own do freelance work, consult, entertain or teach. Although the hours and the pay is not consistent like regular permanent jobs, many people, both college-educated and not, enjoy the freedom to explore China on their own and earn a good living.

Sabotage And Espionage

In Chinese society, it is a civic duty to help with national progress. This can mean relative progress, or slowing the progress of other countries. That is why espionage and sabotage are common here, especially in foreign government operations. I have called an embassy on my cell phone in view of the reception desk and watched the Chinese operator ignore the call! At another embassy, I met with diplomats about another business I run to discuss promoting their culture abroad. Their Chinese secretary kept injecting China into this meeting. I politely told her that the meeting did not involve China. When these diplomatic officers told her to send me several documents relevant to my business, she did not comply. I never received them.

Where Chinese employees were in charge of operations of promoting other countries I have had problems with the cancelling of appointments, refusal to transfer calls, lost faxes, eavesdropping of telephone calls, and unauthorized opening of letters. I am not alone. High-level diplomats and C-level executives I have talked to have had similar experiences when dealing with Chinese employees in positions of trust. I want to clarify and stand firm with my own opinion that not all Chinese citizens are spies. I am stating various incidents that I have personally witnessed or was informed about by credible persons with no outside motives or other agendas. Some foreign governments deal with the problem by just lowering their voices when speaking, others physically throw Chinese personnel caught spying or engaging in sabotage out of their buildings. 

Copycats

China is notorious for copyright infringement and stealing ideas and representing them as their own. This includes trade secrets, intellectual property, and sensitive materials. Even shows produced by Animal Planet and NBC have been recorded, had their logo blurred and presented on government-run TV stations. DVD's, CD's are pirated here daily, costing the owners of those service marks, logos, trade marks, and other branding tools billions of US dollars annually. North Face, Rolex and several other top-end labels are reproduced and placed on substandard products.

Some tips on avoiding espionage problems

Business persons should be careful by avoiding talking about sensitive business matters at restaurants, on cell phones and hotel phones.  Use encrypted faxes, e-mail on secure servers and shredders. Watch what you say around Chinese janitors; many have been known to carry recording devices. Avoid serviced apartments, homes or offices.  Do not use a Chinese driver if offered a company car and driver for your place of employment. They often sell information on your schedule and daily whereabouts. Check your telephones, wall outlets, house plants, and some of the more obvious possible places for electronic listening devices after you assume control of an apartment, home or office. Do not tell anyone except people you trust where you are going and keep your personal movements confidential. Vary departure and arrival times, and change your routes at random. Do not tell people where you are from. Do not show or release your passport to anyone such as security guards, and hold onto it at banks, Western Union or other transaction locations. Place your ID card or passport against the bullet-proof glass so the clerks can read it. Offer them a copy of your passport and recover that when you are done with your business. Do not surrender it. If police demand your passport, do not give it to them. They may be fake police. That's a new scam here. Demand they bring foreign affairs police, immigration, and customs officers. That way you won't be paying any fines for "visa errors" or other creative problems.  Recently we had 12 security guards appear at our door demanding our papers. Needless to say, they got nothing.

The Bottom Line 

In light of these problems, why come to China? One reason is that there are several growing markets, like health care, that are needed but underdeveloped. Another reason is the huge labor pool. Properly trained and monitored, Chinese employees can be a inexpensive and inexhaustible labor force. But, you had better know what you are doing. This takes careful research. Talk to companies that are already here. Talk to people who live here. You can open a representative office to get your feet wet before fully entering the market. Use foreign-owned services, like law firms, accounting, and real estate. This helps avoid miscommunication problems. Above all, learn about the Chinese. Study the government, the law, the people, culture and language and especially the way they are educated. Knowing what you are getting into will prevent the shock of doing business, working or studying in China.

Glenn Frost is an American expat who is well educated and well traveled. He and his wife own and operate http://www.SeoulSearching.com and http://www.VirtualNiche.net where they do live Web casts about the expat lifestyle from their home in Beijing, China. Glenn Frost is an international private investigator, bodyguard, and entrepreneur with clients to include celebrities, dignitaries, diplomats, executives, governments, and royal family members. His direct e-mail address is GlennFrost@Yahoo.com