Before July 1, I believe it was still possible for expats on the Chinese mainland on L visas to visit third-party countries or HK to replace their L visas by Z visas for China. This was advantageous to Chinese employers because it gave them the opportunity to check out a potential FT without having to firstly waste time and money going through the procedures neccessary for obtaining an FEC and other docs needed for expat teachers to get Z visas. Those expats whose teaching was poor could be let go cheaply, while those the employers wished to retain could be sent to HK, for example, to get their Z visas.

Typically, a training center invites 8 expats to teach at the beginning of a semester. As the TC only requires 4, it discards 4 by lying that it was impossible to get their paperwork in order for a visa run to be undertaken. I hope the HK visa run won't be an option any more. Training centers and all other Chinese employers will then be forced to spend time and money on arranging letters of invitation for their expat employees in advance of the commencement of their employment.

If third-party country Z visa issuance is jettisoned by the Chinese government, that would prevent many expats from arriving in China on L visas in the hope of obtaining legal employment after some weeks. That's because expats will be unwilling to fly back to their homelands, and quickly return to China with Z visas. The cost of a return air ticket will put them off, especially after they've already shelled out for a flight from their homelands to China.