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China’s Social Credit System and Foreigner Grading System

August 16, 2020 By Josh Summers

What is China’s social credit system? Perhaps you’ve heard of the China foreigner grading system and wondering how either of these programs will affect you as a foreigner trying to get or renew a visa to China? We’re going to discuss exactly what both of these programs are and how they might affect you.

What is China's Social Credit System and how does it affect foreign travelers? What about China's foreigner grading system?

If there is one thing I’ve learned about the Chinese government in the over 10 years I’ve been traveling around China, it’s that they are obsessed with control. So I wasn’t surprised at all when I heard the announcement in 2014 that China was rolling out a new social credit system for its citizens.

But what is this program and is it similar to China’s foreigner grading system? Is it possible the foreign expat grading system could also prevent you from getting a visa?

Will you as a foreigner have a social credit score in China??

Below, we’re going to answer these questions by walking through both China’s social credit system as well as China’s foreigner grading system to see how they relate and what it means for you.

What is China’s Social Credit System?

So what is China’s social credit system anyway? In short, it’s a numerical grading system that allows the Chinese government to monitor and control the behavior of its citizens. In Chinese, it’s referred to as 社会信用体系 or Shèhuì xìnyòng tǐxì.

Taking lessons from how we earn good and bad credit in the financial world, in this case, Chinese citizens can move up and down in their social score based on their behavior.

Chinese citizens given a social credit score that they carry with them.

What’s more is that, when Chinese move up and down in social credit, they are granted or restricted from certain privileges like flying on airplanes, getting good jobs, or sending one’s kids to top schools, among many others.

Sound strange? Just wait until you hear how invasive it is on one’s private life and personal information.

Apparently, local city councils across China work in partnership with tech firms to monitor social credit. For example, telecoms providers can wreak havoc on someone’s social credit if someone spends too much time playing videogames online or posts fake news on social media (I’m guessing politically sensitive content also qualifies).

Facial recognition is also used to dock points for driver’s that run red lights or pedestrians jaywalking across streets.

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Curious about what earns good social credit? Based on the little information the Chinese government shares, donating money to charity or having a high education can improve your score. So can more obscure things like being a parent or walking your dog with a leash.

What’s the Point of China’s Social Credit System?

The guiding Chinese principle behind the social credit system, as noted by the Washington Post, is that “Keeping trust is glorious and breaking trust is disgraceful.”

When you visit China, you’ll notice that the Chinese government plays an active role in things like Internet censorship to control and culturally shape its population in the manner that keeps the Communist Party in power.

The social credit system is just one of many means for the Chinese government to further monitor and culturally shape its population. This one, however, has an incentive structure built in.

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China’s Social Credit System and Foreign Tourists

So what does China’s social credit system mean for you as a foreign tourist to China? In short, absolutely nothing.

The program focuses entirely on Chinese citizens and some sources, including this article published in Foreign Policy Magazine, claim that China’s social credit system isn’t even real.

So if you’re worried that you lack the social credit to travel to China and that you’ll be monitored to the point where you’ll have your own social credit score before you leave, you can rest easy and focus your attention on seeing the best sights China has to offer.

If you’re an expat doing work in China, however, you’ll have to contend with another, very real system: China’s foreign expat grading system.

What is China’s Foreigner Grading System?

You may be sighing breaths of relief knowing the Chinese social credit system could be nothing more than myth. But what about China’s foreigner grading system?

For folks traveling to China in the hopes of landing a job, the scoring system for expats is something you’ll have to deal with to acquire a work permit.

But if you’re traveling to China solely for travel and applying for a travel visa, then you don’t need to worry about the scoring system for expats whatsoever.

The scoring system for expats is also nothing new and has already been in place for several years. But if you’re not familiar with China’s foreigner grading system, to bring you up to speed, it’s a points-based system to vet foreigners looking for work in China.

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Foreign Expat Tiers in China Explained

The vetting system in China gives points for specific, qualifying conditions. For example, you’ll get more points for having a doctorate (20 points) versus just a bachelor’s degree (10 points) at university. You’ll even get more points for being between the ages of 26-45 (15 points) versus being 18-25 (10 points) or older (0-10 points).

The points are then added up to separate you into one of three separate tiers:

  • Tier A: Requiring a massive 85 points, these folks primarily have professions in middle-upper management, come from Fortune 500 firms or famous academic institutions, and are applying for really senior roles in China. This is a seriously small group.
  • Tier B: This is where most foreign workers in China fall and it takes between 60-85 points to qualify for this tier. Most Tier B foreigners have at least a Bachelor’s Degree along with two years working experience and fill skill based positions like teaching English in China.
  • Tier C: Foreigners that score under 60 points qualify for Tier C. Unfortunately for those in Tier C, jobs are generally short-term and subject to quotas. You may or may not be given a visa if you fall in this category.
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You can learn more about the tiers and where you would likely qualify from this excellent article on China-Briefing. The key takeaway is that China is trying to become more picky and choosy on foreign workers coming to China.

Another takeaway is it may also be more difficult for recent college graduates to land a teaching job without any experience. If this describes you, I’d either consider investing in a TEFL or teach English online to earn you more points when applying for ESL jobs in China.

Final Thoughts | China’s Grading Systems

There are plenty of reasons to be concerned about China’s new social credit system. But you shouldn’t stress about it as the program does not monitor foreign travelers and is likely not even a real thing at this point.

However, don’t expect to be entirely free of Big Brother while in China and investing in a VPN will at least help you maintain Internet privacy.

China’s social credit system should also not be confused with China’s foreigner grading system, which could impact your ability to get a work permit. To receive a work permit in China, you’ll want to ensure you have enough points to get your required visa.

But the good news is travel visas to China continue to remain easy enough to get. You can also take advantage of the best China visa services I recommend to make getting a visa easier.

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Further Reading & Resources

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Avatar for Josh Summers

About Josh Summers

Josh is the founder of TravelChinaCheaper.com who has been living in China with his family since 2006. Over that period of time he has traveled by plane, train, car, motorcycle and even camel to explore almost every corner of the country.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Avatar for Josh SummersLes the rainmaker says

    May 14, 2019 at 7:08 am

    I worked in China for 5 years from 2009. The local police told me not to bother telling them or doing the paperwork when I traveled unless I left the country! Given that sometimes I had 2 months holiday and often traveled on trains overnight I wonder if they just thought I was “safe”? For the first trip in 2008 I never registered once! Since I was 60 when I first went I would have scored very low on the Tier c!

    • Avatar for Josh SummersJosh Summers says

      May 14, 2019 at 8:21 pm

      Yea, each local police was different for me. One asked me to check in every couple of months. Another told me not to bother unless I was leaving the country, just like you. Either way, I don’t think they cared about my safety as much as just wanted to track where I was.

  2. Avatar for Josh Summersmark says

    May 14, 2019 at 7:23 am

    i think a grading system based on social bahavior forces people to consider how they behave in public. if a nation is concerned about how its citizens conduct themselves and if that conduct reflects on the nation, then a grading system is similar to what our children learn in school. setting an example for future generations is done better through action than by mere words.

    • Avatar for Josh SummersJosh Summers says

      May 14, 2019 at 8:22 pm

      There’s genuine debate as to whether this social credit score is a good or bad system in China. I’m not trying to weigh in on that debate; rather, I’m interested to see how it would affect a foreign traveler to China, which is doesn’t.

  3. Avatar for Josh SummersDave Francis says

    May 14, 2019 at 9:33 pm

    Hi josh
    Interesting subject, however there is another point which I feel should be addressed regarding visa.
    I have known my Chinese wife for many years, and have bought property in China.
    we eventually married in China in 2012.
    I continued to work in oversea locations (with wife), eventually retiring to China 2017 and had no problem with getting the visa which allowed me to stay for the initial 2 years. my question is what if anything would prevent me from continuing to extend on this principal and for how long must I do this before qualifying to stay on more permanent basis
    Would be interested in your view as have heard to many variations
    Best Regards Dave. F

    • Avatar for Josh SummersJosh Summers says

      May 15, 2019 at 9:10 pm

      Hey Dave, China has a number of requirements for a more permanent visa, but they’re pretty high (and they seem to be subjective at times). According to the Telegraph, less than 10,000 foreigners have received a green card in the 12 years since the program was started and most of those were either extremely wealthy, extremely connected or made an extreme contribution to China.

      You’ll have to stick with a spousal visa, which still requires you to check in and renew the visa each year.

  4. Avatar for Josh SummersC. A. guthrie says

    May 20, 2019 at 6:20 pm

    We love to travel. no we are not highly educated, we worked hard our whole lives and saved. I love the great USA and I would not move any where in the world. I have been to 60 countries in Europe, asia, middle east, Africa, south America and eastern Europe. china is a nice country to visit but not to live. they have many different types of governments and they end up beating the little guy. No I like the good old USA I d not need to worry about my credit card score.

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