Forty percent of expats consider business start-ups in China

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has made it clear on many occasions that the Chinese government encourages people to do business creatively to drive innovation.

According to recent data released by China's State Administration for Industry and Commerce, 41.9 percent of expats will start or have started their own businesses in China.

However, a lack of support is the biggest barrier in starting up, according to 27.3 percent, the research found.

Also, factors such as culture, language, and connections in China also keep them from becoming an entrepreneur.

Despite these difficulties, 47.3 percent expats aged between 31 and 40 have chosen to start businesses in China.

Entrepreneurship Environment

It is well known that a conducive start-up environment is essential to the success of a business.

In recent years, the State Council has already created guidelines to encourage more participation in entrepreneurship and innovation.

According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor China Report: Entrepreneurship Environment and Policies released by the National Entrepreneurship Research Center of Tsinghua University in 2014, China's start-up atmosphere, as a whole, has improved from 2002 to 2012.

For instance, authorities provide financial subsidies for office rental fees and offer public services and training for small and medium-sized enterprises.

With regard to the domestic entrepreneurship environment score, which is scored on a scale of 1 to 5 points, among expats, the average score given was 3.28 points, indicating only a moderately conducive environment.

Suzhou, a city in East China's Jiangsu province, tops the list with an average score of 4.28.

Angel Funds

Research showed that less than one-tenth (9.1 percent) of expats think that angel funds in China are better than other countries whereas 22.2 percent think otherwise.

Despite great growth in angel fund investments, it still has much room for improvement.

The high degree of risk is the most obvious factor (24.6 percent) when considering weaknesses for its growth, followed by a shortage of fund-raising channels (20 percent) and a lack in investment and management expertise (16.2 percent).