According to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security of China, there were 180,000 registered foreign workers in China by the end of 2006, nearly a 100% growth compared with that in 2003. Statistics show that most foreign employees in China live in the eastern part of the country, particularly in Shanghai (54,608), Beijing (30,484) and Guangzhou (6,800).

Foreign employees in China are from all around the world, including developed countries like the US, South Korea, Japan, Britain, Germany and Canada. It is said that there are foreign employees from 130-plus countries and regions in Shanghai, many of whom are from Japan (28.6%), the US (12.3%) and South Korea (8.9%). Foreign employees in Guangdong are from 108 countries, 28% of them from Japan.

Obviously, Japan, the US and South Korea are the 3 biggest foreign workforce sources to China.

The increasing number of foreign employees in China shows China's increasing openness to the outside world as well as its booming economy.