Hi, For all practical purposes the ID card, PR, is the same as a Chinese national in many regards. You don't need a visa and you apply for jobs the same as any Chinese person would. You still sign a labor contract in most cases but it is not required if you are freelancing around town. In a few places when I was hired I was told that I needed an FEC and a few people did not know for sure what to do with me. In fact I did not need one but got one anyway. I have found that if you can read, write, and speak Chinese and have a PR card, many places are not so welcoming since they know that you know your rights and that you have some options. Once the element of abusing the foreigner is taken out of the process, they would much rather hire some backpacking kid that is wet behind the ears that does not ask too many questions. I presently work for a Dutch company that is a WOFE so we don't have even one Chinese person on staff.