China’s first inter-province residence permit was issued to a Malaysian citizen on February 26.
Weng Wenxing resides in Wujiang district, Suzhou, Jiangsu province and works as the general manager at Walter Electronic, a Suzhou-based electronics manufacturing company.
Mr. Weng received the new Shanghai Residence Permit for Overseas Talent, even though his work and place of residence are outside of Shanghai. The new permit is part of a government policy to integrate part of the Yangtze Delta Region, which includes Qingpu district in Shanghai, Wujiang district in Suzhou, Jiangsu province and Jiashan county in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province. The ‘integration zone’ covers a total of 2,400 square kilometers.
According to a press release by the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government in July of last year, the new residence permit is designed to “attract more overseas talent” and “support the development of the Shanghai economy.” The press release also laid out the conditions for receiving the new residence permit.
The Yangtze Delta region is not the only area of China to be subject to cross-provincial policies. In southern China, Guangdong, along with the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao, are known collectively as the Greater Bay Area.
READ MORE: What's the Greater Bay Area Plan and Why Does It Matter?
And in northern China, the government aims to further integrate Beijing municipality with neighboring Tianjin municipality and Hebei province.
Whether more areas will follow suit in offering inter-province residence permits, remains to be seen.
[Cover image via chinanews.com]
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