In 2005, there has been a growing trend among multinational firms in China to employ Western-educated Chinese returnees to fill shortages of skilled labor.  Companies understand that employing Chinese returnees instead of Western expatriates is a good investment.  These candidates are usually Western-educated, speak Chinese, and oftentimes do not need compensation for adapting to living in China.

In addition, multinational companies are no longer considering large Chinese cities like Shanghai and Beijing as hardship postings.  Most Western expatriates receive little or no hardship allowance for working in these major Chinese cities today.  China has an abundance of cheap, unskilled labor, but not enough qualified candidates to fill management and senior level positions.  As a result, Chinese returnees have become more desirable hires for multinational companies in China.  

In fact, recently, there have been several job fairs in China specifically designed to attract Chinese returnees.  On December 28, 2006 the Guangzhou Science and Technology Exchange Fair for Chinese Overseas Students was held in Guangzhou, China.  Job fair attendees were required to have master´s degrees and experience working overseas.  Hiring managers recruited for over 10,000 jobs in China.