Iranian PhD student Mahdi Gharibavi attended the job fair, although he still has another year to go for his mechanical engineering studies at East China University of Science and Technology.

He was happy to see the many job opportunities available in Shanghai.

"I studied for my masters in Italy. The job prospects in Europe were nowhere near that in China," he said.

Most employers at the fair said they are willing to offer foreign job seekers starting salaries 10 to 20 percent higher than that given to Chinese graduates.

Ding Yifan, a recruiter for global travel booking firm Agoda, said foreign graduates are ideal for the company's customer service team. He received more than 20 job applications within the first hour.

As well as enhanced employment policies, Shanghai has also piloted a series of policies streamlining applications for Chinese "green cards," allowing permanent residence for non-Chinese residents. For those working in Shanghai FTZ, a letter of recommendation from the FTZ authorities assists in the application process.

Shanghai has 170,000 foreign permanent residents. The municipal government has encouraged large companies and industrial parks to build apartment buildings to provide housing for their foreign employees.

Similar policies have been rolled out in cities in Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces in east China, as increasing foreign talent has become more important than attracting foreign investment.