The European Chamber cordially invites you to the next Human Resources, Legal & Competition, Research & Development and SME joint Working Group meeting, which will discuss the issue of internship visas for foreigners in China and will feature a presentation on the China-France《1000 Interns》 Agreement by Mr. Fabien Chareix, Attaché for University Cooperation at the Consulate General of France in Shanghai.
In 2013, China has eliminated the F-visa category for interns, posing a challenge for European companies here with a tradition in recruiting foreign interns for their business. Later, in 2016, France became the first European Union country to sign an interns exchange agreement with China, enabling 1,000 French students and fresh graduates to apply for internships in enterprises in China for a period of up to six months.
Since the scheme has first been implemented, other EU countries are now seeking to reach similar agreements with China, while the Chinese government has also launched in 2017 the S2 visa policy allowing foreign talent to undertake internships in a limited number of innovation parks and free trade zones throughout the country, but with a national internship visa policy for foreign students and graduates still missing.
In this context, our meeting will explore how successful the China-France《1000 Interns》 Agreement has been since its launch, what are the conditions both companies and interns-to-be need to fulfill in order to benefit from the agreement, as well as the emerging practical opportunities and challenges of a bilateral interns exchange programme with China.
Tentative Agenda:
• 09:30-09:40 Welcome remarks by Ms. Rosanna Terminio, National Chair of the HR Working Group and Mr. Joseph van der Elst, Deputy Managing Director, energydesign
• 09:40-10:20 Presentation on China-France《1000 Interns》 Agreement by Mr. Fabien Chareix, Attaché for University Cooperation at the Consulate General of France in Shanghai
• 10:20-10:50 Q&A Session
• 10:50-11:00 Closing remarks by Ms. Rosanna Terminio, National Chair of the HR Working Group and Mr. Joseph van der Elst, Deputy Managing Director, energydesign
As usual, we welcome your suggestions for possible agenda topics and speakers for this and future meetings.
About the speaker
Mr. Fabien Chareix is currently Attaché for University Cooperation at the Consulate General of France in Shanghai and an Associate Professor at Sorbonne Université. Holder of a PhD in Philosophy from France’s Ecole Normale Supérieure, Mr. Chareix has over 20 years of experience in educational programme development and research-based university teaching. He has previously represented Sorbonne Universités (cluster) in Singapore and was the Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University Paris-Sorbonne in Abu Dhabi.