It's not so easy to attract local talent from China these days. There was a time when foreign companies in China would hire expats for management roles in China. But nowadays companies are hiring more local talent in China as the talent speaks the language and understands the culture and the market. This is creating competition for talent, and forcing recruiters to alter their strategies.

Companies in China now have a preference for managers with international experience, especially as the companies grow globally, and have been targetting employees working at multinational companies.

One cable manufacturer in Indiana that has 1,900 employees in China, 80 of which are middle to upper management, said it has a hard time recruiting and retaining Chinese employees, as multinational corporations are no longer seen as the only option for Chinese employees. The company found that it was paying more just to compete with local businesses in China, who are themselves offering competing salaries there. So now this company changed its recruiting strategy by grooming entry-level staff to become managers.

Another company, based in the Netherlands has solved this problem of attracting Chinese talent by launching a program that lets its Chinese employees spend up to a month working at any of the company's 45 locations worldwide. This helps attract employees who want to gain international experience.