"These are foreigners who are young, ambitious and willing to work on a local contract in exchange for experience and the perspective of long-term settlement," he says.

Localization is a major trend - and this true not only for the foreign companies' expat salaries, but also for their target market.

According to the new Business Climate Survey conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce more than 60 percent of the American companies said pursuing the Chinese market is their main reason for operating in China - compared to a mere 51 percent in 2008.

More than 80 percent of the American companies said they feel optimistic about their five-year business outlook in China.

In fact, these organizations do not consider the economic slowdown as the dominating challenge.

Bigger threats are the protection of intellectual property rights - and the problem of finding and retaining qualified talent.

A study conducted by the consulting firm Watson Wyatt arrives at the same conclusion.

"Attraction of qualified talent" is the greatest business challenge for multinational companies in China.

China is still in need of a brain gain. One of the companies at the job fair in great need of expat experts is China's oldest steel company Shougang.

It offers 19 engineering and two financial expert positions at the fair, "but there are just not enough suitable applicants for those positions," Shougang HR manager Hu Yuping says.

The world's number 14 tire producer Triangle, a few booths on, is facing the same problem.

"It's quite hard to find foreign experts in fields like tire engineering, mechanical engineering or international trade," Triangle interpreter Richard Hu explains.

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