Interning in China can be the beginning of a new opportunity for thousands of new graduates from around the world. However, venturing into a new place that is far away from family and friends who you completely trust and placing your trust in a new group of people is a scary thing to do. We recently interviewed Yuri Khlystov, CEO of Gi2C Group about what new interns to China can do to protect themselves and have the best experience possible.
Yuri, tell us a little about Gi2C Group and why you started this company with your partner Ben Tsao.
Sure. When I came to China in 2007 to learn Mandarin and learn more about Chinese culture, I loved it but encountered a great deal of difficulty. I looked around for foreign companies to help solve some of my problems, but there just weren’t many around back then. Ben and I knew that we could make Beijing and Shanghai more foreigner-friendly and started Gi2C in 2008 to do just that. Since then, we’ve successfully given more than 3,000 international talents an internship in China.
Since you’ve been in China for around eight years, do you think China is a safe place for foreigners?
In terms of crime, yes, China is very safe. Physical attacks and violence are extremely rare and the most common reason to call the police is if you had something stolen out of your purse or backpack such as a phone or laptop. Having your bike stolen is also a common complaint, but you can avoid that by using a second-hand bike that doesn’t attract attention. If you are always observant of your belongings, I doubt anything negative will ever happen to you in China.
Have you seen foreigners fall prey to any scams in China?
I’ve heard some stories about foreign tourists being scammed by English-speaking Chinese who come up to them at Tiananmen Square or some other popular tourist destination and ask them to go with them somewhere. Again, there is no physical harm meant, but you might be out of a great deal of money if you fall prey to this scam!
Why would anyone go anywhere with these English-speaking strangers? How do they convince them to go?
Well, most foreigners are friendly and obliging and might be excited to finally find someone who can speak English. The scammer might simply ask them out for tea or dinner and make it sound like they will pay for it. I’ve heard it’s often college girls who look innocent and you’d never in a million years guess that they were running a scam racket. Plus, these scam artists practice their routine until it’s just perfect and would convince pretty much anyone. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect.
Your company, Gi2C Group, has recently come under attack by someone trying to defame your company name. They are putting the Gi2C website on a lot of scam alert websites. What kind of scam is this person saying that Gi2C has committed?
There is no scam. Let’s look at the facts instead of made up claims. Gi2C Group has been operating for over 6 years. We’ve placed around 3,000 interns into companies in both Beijing and Shanghai. We have hundreds of intern reviews on our intern blog and Youtube as well as on other websites such as Go Overseas, Help Go Abroad and Go Abroad. We have been interviewed by reporters who have done their own independent research on us. We are a member of the British Chamber of Commerce and China-Britain Business Council as well as the partner of universities around the world.
Based on comments from some of those scam alert websites, some people feel that internship placements should be free of charge and any internship provider that charges a fee is a scam. What do you have to say about that?
As with any business that provides a service, there is a cost of service. We are doing so much more than just emailing a new intern the address of their placement company and telling them “good luck”. In addition to finding a suitable company for each intern, Gi2C Group helps with finding accommodation, airport pickup, welcome package, visa assistance, orientation and city tour, business, cultural and networking events, on-site support, KTV night, charity volunteering day, and a certificate upon completion. If all companies that charge money for providing services are a “scam”, then every company in the world is running a scam!
Why do you charge a processing fee in addition to the internship program fee?
We get hundreds of inquiries each week. The processing fee helps to identify those who are serious and differentiate from those who simply need more information. We can quickly start work on finding a great China internship placement for applicants who have paid the processing fee because we know they are serious. The Gi2C customer service team spends a great deal of time finding an appropriate company for each intern based on what industry they are interested in and the processing fee ensures they are not wasting any time.
Gi2C is not the only internship provider offering internships in China. How can new interns know which company to trust and which may be a scam?
Intern reviews are the best source of information for new interns. Not only can you verify that other people have completed the program, you can also learn details about the program and make sure you avoid mistakes they made. Second, confirm that the company has been operating for a while. New companies aren’t inherently bad but they are riskier than companies that have been around for a while. Also, just go with your gut. If you contact a company and the person you talk to isn’t answering all of your questions, then try a different company.
I’m familiar with other internship providers in China and I haven’t heard of any specifically that are operating some kind of “scam” operation. Some past employees or past interns may not have had a good experience for one reason or another, but that’s no reason to drag a company’s name through the mud. I think all of this hullabaloo about “China internship scams” will be a thing of the past soon.
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Gi2C has been an internship provider in China since 2008 and has become a leader in the internship industry. Gi2C’s goal is to help students and young professionals not only safely get into China without falling prey to any scams but also to help them understand China and Chinese business culture. Gi2C provides tailor-made opportunities for interns to work for a variety companies in multiple industries based in China. For more information, visit their website: www.gi2c.org
