The 2021 Euro-Asia Economic Forum. Photo: Fan Anqi/ GT

Cities in western parts of China such as Chengdu as well as eastern coastal cities including Ningbo have made the list of this year's most attractive Chinese cities for expatriates, according to a survey released on Monday by the State Bureau of Foreign Experts under the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST). 

China's capital Beijing topped the chart this year as the most favored city for foreigners, replacing Shanghai which had been in top spot for eight consecutive years, the Global Times learned from the bureau on Monday at the 2021 Euro-Asia Economic Forum held in Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province. 

The top 10 cities in the list – titled "Amazing China – the Most Attractive Chinese Cities for Foreigners" – in 2020 were Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Xi'an, Chengdu, Ningbo, Suzhou, Shenzhen and Qingdao. 

The poll has been running for 11 consecutive years, starting in 2010. This year's survey features foreign experts engaged in high-end international cooperation programs, with a total of 149 signed ballots from senior foreign experts and 3,727 signed ballots from other foreign researchers. Among the foreign expert voters, there were also 14 Nobel Prize winners and one Turing Award winner.

"One significant change in this year's list compared with previous times is that western parts of China seem to be more attractive to foreign experts than before, partly because of their remarkable performance in economic development and improved international business environment over the years," Xu Qingqun, editor-in-chief of Foreign Expert Newsletter and International Talent magazine, the organizer of the survey and a subsidiary of MOST, told the Global Times on Monday.  

Xi'an in 2020 became the first city in Northwest China to join the "trillion-GDP club," with a per capita GDP of 9,306 yuan ($1,447). Deeply involved in the country's Belt & Road Initiative drive, the city has seen over 3,720 China-Europe freight trains departing or arriving. 

Eastern coastal cities such as Ningbo have also outrun others with progress made in East China's Zhejiang Province Demonstration Zone for Common Prosperity, Xu noted. 

Based on some 54 indicators in five categories, the survey gave an overall assessment by expats about the cities' work and living convenience, social environment and openness. 

"With the growing tension between China and the US, and the impact of the pandemic, international exchanges have encountered some difficulties in recent years. But we are seeing academicians from around the world trying hard to make it work through online channels," Xu told the Global Times. "They understand that the more hardships and misunderstandings they are facing, the more they need communication with China."

China has introduced a great number of favorable policies that welcome expats, such as issuing more work permits and a foreign talent visa system. "However, the implementation of such policies is an issue that needs further work, so as to make the policies more flexible and practical," Xu added.