Foreigners stay cool to insurance

One-fifth of expat workers enrolled in social security programs, official says

China's effort to cover foreign workers in its social security net has received a lukewarm response, with authorities conceding that only a small portion of expats have joined the system.

Two and half years after the enactment of China's Social Insurance Law, which extends the country's social security program to foreign workers, more than 200,000 expats have participated in various social insurance programs, said Hu Xiaoyi, vice-minister of human resources and social security.