Foreign expert Hannes Langner from a Taicang company receives his new work permit from the city's Human Resources and Social Security Bureau. [Photo/WeChat account: taicangdaily]

Foreign expert Hannes Langner from a Taicang company recently received his new work permit, according to an announcement by the city's Human Resources and Social Security Bureau.

It is the first time that the city has issued a foreigner's work permit since the permit system for foreigners working in China was launched nationwide in April 2017, said the head of the bureau.

The foreigner's work permit is integrated with the previous foreign experts' work permit in China and foreigner's employment permit.

The latest work permit is an electronic chip card printed with the applicant's photo, name, nationality, and the work permit's number.

Foreign applicants are divided into three categories: A, B, C, of which A group is the high-end talents urgently needed for China's economic and social development, B group is professional talents, and C group is ordinary workers for temporary, seasonal, non-technical and service work in China.

At present, Taicang Human Resources and Social Security Bureau has approved 593 applicants for the work permit, 195 of whom belong to A group. The approval rate accounts for 32.9 percent of total applicants.

Some 593 foreigners have been approved to work in Taicang. [Photo/WeChat account: taicangdaily]