Assuming you’re a US citizen. I’m not privy to the specifics of my setup but understand everything from a high level.

We have a residence permit in China sponsored by our family office which operates in Beijing and Shanghai (despite being largely denominated in USD). I only need to pay myself some multiple of the average salary in Beijing (I don’t know what the average BJ salary is these days but my total Chinese ordinary income is less than $100k). In the grand scheme of things, that is a very trivial amount and can even be exempt. The rest of your compensation can be paid out in the US.

I agree that China has changed for the worse in many ways recently (especially in terms of lifestyle). However, I still believe Asia will continue to outpace the US in terms of economic growth for the foreseeable future. I would never live in China permanently but there is too much easy, lucrative business there to pass up. Ray Dalio published a free e-book on his view of the changing world order. Worth a read for anyone interested in the US (or even people indexing their wealth into US equities).

You're right, I didn't get any antibody tests after arriving in PVG either. But perhaps it is done based on country of arrival? Or perhaps someone else on his flight tested positive to PCR and he was classified as a close contact?

I’m just a drone in a very very straight laced company and all of my income is already USD. They pay all my taxes and expenses in China.

I 10000% agree with you that China is the greatest economic place to be on the planet I’m just starting to question things from an overall life quality plan standpoint. Not super relevant to the topic though, just sharing thoughts.

yeah who knows with PVG. When I arrived there last fall Oct 2020 they treated me like a POW. When I arrived in Guangzhou CAN in April 2021 they are very pleasant and kind throughout the process.

I didn't have any issues at PVG in Feb 2021, but I was flying from a low-risk country.

If you’re living and working full time in China then you’re supposed to be paying tax on your entire income, including the amount you’re paid in the USA. Of course this strategy you’re employing has been used for decades by expats but China is now trying to crack down on this. The chance to get caught is slim and presumably someone with a family office and someone who thinks $100k is a trivial amount of money has enough connections and coin to get out of any uncomfortable situations in the mainland. But it is a small risk you’re running if you’re indeed living in China full time.

Asia is definitely the future and China is awash in cash now with their SOEs and Investment firms looking to throw it around like crazy now. I’m still torn about staying though because life is getting harder and more expensive here and not being able to leave for the foreseeable future without a lengthy quarantine if let back in is really a bummer.

This article has no real content but this is the attitude that we are dealing with: https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202106/1225983.shtml

Both parts of the first statement are false. The second statement is true, yes, no vaccine is perfect. The "huge risks" in the third statement are way overstated...
The problem with the mentality in the first statement is that if one really believes this, then vaccination is pointless.

I do not live in China full-time but I do have stay duration requirements in the country. AFAIK, my foreign income is not taxable.

IMO, peak Shanghai was 2016. The local government’s crackdowns have really made many facets of Shanghai life unbearable. I went through many apartment police raids In 2019 and I am completely clean.

I am still bullish on the country from a financial perspective (especially after reading Ray Dalio’s free book on the subject), but I would never willingly live there full time. I also think there has been a strong counter movement against foreigners in China culturally. The LBF idea is so pervasive in tier 1 cities these days (which is unfortunate for a country that desperately needs skilled immigration).

Not if you leave the country for 90 days every five years. As far as I know this get-out-jail-free card is still on the books and you will stay as a non-resident tax payer from China's point-of-view. Of course if your tax strategy elsewhere relies on you being a China resident then this doesn't work.

China is pursuing the Zero-Covid strategy currently. Once they have achieved sufficient vaccine coverage they may decide to abandon the strategy and instead switch to the coexistence strategy as employed in many countries. However, until that coverage is achieved, and until the rest of the world proves that coexistence is actually possible, then nothing will change on the borders front.

No country has shown that they can fully reopen their borders with vaccines alone yet. Even Israel still requires 14 days quarantine for all arrivals.

I’ll bite, what’s LBF?

Sorry, this has to be a joke... since when has China ever cared about what other countries do?

Um... the EU is doing this, rollout across member states varies.

This website contradicts itself (top says you don't have to quarantine and the bottom says that you can apply for an exception if vaccinated) but nevertheless 14 day quarantine is definitely not required for all arrivals. https://www.gov.il/en/Departments/Gu...chapterIndex=5

Sorry, I got hit by autocorrect. I meant LBH. This is a common term locals use for some expats in Asian cities that means “Loser Back Home”.

The default option is to quarantine for 14 days. You can reduce it to 10 by taking two extra Covid tests.

If you were vaccinated or infected in Israel (with the corresponding certificates), then you don't have to quarantine.

If you were vaccinated or infected outside of Israel, you still have to quarantine but you may be able to get out early (depending on the result) by taking an antibody test during quarantine.

I was just told my a Shenzhen local that you now need to have at least one shot of vaccine to be able to fly from SZX airport. I hope this is incorrect, but honestly it wouldn’t surprise me at this point.