Rakesh Vats, an Indian national, has been working in Beijing for 10 years. He says the program is a step forward in giving foreigners the same fair treatment as Chinese nationals receive. 　 But like many other foreign workers interviewed, Vats says the scheme puzzles him. "Actually, this scheme is not very clear. It talks about your pension, your medical care, your other benefits, but it's not clear how it's going to benefit them." Under current Chinese law, a foreigner who loses a job instantly loses the right to live in the country. But the new insurance program does not provide details about how workers can benefit from unemployment insurance under such circumstances. Yang Yansui says the government must make more clarifications on such matters. Xu Yanjun, an official with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, says although the insurance scheme is mandatory, foreign workers from certain countries have the option of not joining the program. "China has signed reciprocal exemption agreements on social insurance with Germany and the Republic of Korea. Under such agreements, nationals from those countries upon proving they have already paid for social insurance in their own countries, can be exempted from paying contributions for social insurance in China, but accordingly they will not receive benefits." Analysts say this will prompt more countries to sign similar agreements with China in the near future.