Haikou — capital of China's southernmost Hainan province — ranked 17th among China's top 20 cities in terms of their attractiveness to foreign talent, according to the latest survey.

The ranking came from the 2025-26 "Amazing China — The Most Attractive Chinese Cities in the Eyes of Foreign Talents" which was released by the Foreign Talent Research Center of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security on Sept 28. This marks the fourth time the city has made the list since 2019, and the third consecutive year it has ranked among the top 20.

The survey selected 81 Chinese cities with relatively high concentrations of foreign talent and surveyed foreign professionals working and living in China. A total of 6,258 valid questionnaires were collected. Cities were evaluated on factors including work satisfaction, living convenience and environmental friendliness.

In recent years, Haikou has continued to streamline government services for foreign talent. The city established Hainan's first comprehensive service window for foreigners, bringing work permit and residence permit services together.

In 2023, it launched a pilot program allowing applicants to access both services at one window and receive the permits simultaneously, cutting the statutory processing time from 28 working days to seven.

Haikou has also extended services for foreign talent to key industrial parks and local communities, setting up work permit service stations and providing support for entrepreneurship, career development and daily life through platforms such as international talent innovation and entrepreneurship bases and Haikou International Talent Home.

Haikou International Talent Home has provided services to foreign talent more than 500 times to date and organized professional qualification examinations and qualification recognition services for more than 70 foreign professionals.

These efforts have helped create a more convenient environment for foreign talent to work, start businesses and live in Haikou, supporting the city's efforts to attract international talent and help them settle down.