Expat executives 'squeezed out' of China Chris Devonshire-Ellis, principal at Beijing-based accountancy firm Dezan Shira & Associates, said: "As expats in China are now being asked to contribute to social welfare (the employer has to meet a sizeable chunk of this expense) there is little incentive for employers to retain expatriate staff unless they are in essential roles. It is less a squeeze and more an increasing demand for more appropriate talent - much of which happens to be in the remit of returning Chinese or well-educated local Chinese with English language communication skills. According to the AESC survey, the majority of expat executives (72 per cent) now believe it is hard for foreign-born executives working in China to gain access to local executive positions. Some complained of "employers favouring local talent" while others have noticed the compensation gap between higher-paid expats and local managers narrowing. But Peter Felix, president of AESC, said there were still options available for expat executives in China to reverse the trend. He recommended expats to invest in their cultural skills, join Chinese social networks and improve their language capabilities so that they may become more easily considered for top management positions in both local and multinational corporations. Despite the increasing competition from local talent, the expat job market in China is more active than ever. More than half (51 per cent) of the expat executives surveyed said they are looking for new opportunities. Outside of developed markets such as the UK and US, China also leads the pack when it comes to managerial salaries in emerging markets.