A recent survey by ECA International, a London-based human resources consultant, ranked Beijing as the 31st most expensive city for expatriates in the world, surpassing Hong Kong to become the most expensive city in China.
Beijing’s ranking rose from last year’s 101st place as a result of the yuan appreciation and rising inflation in the first half of this year. Hong Kong climbed to 33rd place from 85th last year. Shanghai surged to 35th place from 106th last year.
But expatriates living and working in China are having an easy time compared to their counterparts in Japan. Four Japanese cities, Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya and Kobe, took four of the top five spots in the ECA’s cost-of-living list. Tokyo ranks second after Luanda in Angola, where certain imported goods purchased by expatriates are very expensive.
Moscow continued to be the most expensive European city for foreigners.
