Shanghai remains the most attractive Chinese mainland city for foreigners for the sixth successive year in a ranking released on Jan. 15, 2019.

The ranking, hosted by the Shanghai Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs (SHAFEA), was voted on solely by foreigners.

On the same day, a symposium attended by high-level foreign expert representatives was held in Shanghai, with a goal to listen to their advice, and thus further enhance the city's innovation environment and attract foreign talents to work and live in Shanghai.

According to statistics from the administration, a total of 215,000 expats now work in Shanghai, accounting for 23.7% of the number in the whole country and also ranking first.

Since the work permit system for foreigners in China was put on trial in Shanghai in 2016, more than 100,000 licenses have been issued, with over 18,000 licenses, a proportion of 18%, being for high-end foreign talents (type A).

At the meeting, an Indian expert from an information technology company advised that Shanghai should focus onthe fields of robotics, the Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence, and establish a number of professional incubators.

A Russian expert viewed that an English version should be available in some technology project applications, adding that the government could permit and guide foreign experts to undertake Shanghai projects from abroad, and then introduce some of their best talents to Shanghai upon approval.

A Greek-language professor from Shanghai International Studies University (SISU) noted that more foreign language and culture research courses could be introduced to the city's secondary and higher education institutions.