China will expand the favorable visa policies of its 1,000 Talent Plan to dozens of other programs nationwide to attract leading professionals to work in the country. This move is expected to ease one of the top concerns of foreign talent in China. “In the past, we have had a very strict policy and high standards in terms of ‘exit and entry’, and the number of overseas talents in China is not that large,” an official from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said. “However, the 1,000 Talent Plan is a convenient channel. Now this channel is also open to experts from 55 programs. This will help to forge a diversified talent recruitment network.” Foreign experts recruited through the 55 programs can apply for visas, residence permits and permanent residence－also called Chinese green cards－under the same standard for experts recruited by the national Recruitment Program of Global Experts, or the 1,000 Talent Plan. The various programs are offered by seven ministries, 21 provinces, 12 cities and one centrally-administered enterprise. “Compared with other countries’ permanent residence policies, I think the Chinese government still has to expand the scale instead of just focusing on talent programs,” Wang Huiyao, President of the Center for China and Globalization said, as reported by the China Daily.