In early April 2011, at least seven mainland Chinese media outlets posted an article on their websites that included translations and summaries from foreign and Hong Kong news sources. The topic? One that is relatively new in China and, it would seem, relatively contentious - that of illegal immigration. The translated texts quote the official Chinese media, noting that the Guangdong provincial Government recently passed regulations to “crack down” on illegal immigration. Using this article and reader responses to it as a starting point, this discussion paper will map the ongoing evolution of China from a “sending” to a “receiving” country, remark on the new regulations enacted at national and local levels, and analyse the ways in which increased trade and development ties to Africa will necessarily influence the size, characteristics, and reception of African immigrants to China.

South China’s “sanfei”

Guangdong province, in south-eastern China, is a booming industrial centre in the Pearl River Delta that hosted the earliest special economic zones opened by the Chinese Government in the early 1980s. Since then, foreign direct investment (FDI) has made it a light manufacturing hub, and according to the quoted articles, the vibrant developing economy has attracted immigrants from Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia who are looking for opportunities to work and trade on the mainland.⁽²⁾ However, these immigrants have often arrived illegally, live illegally, and work illegally, therefore the Chinese press and Government refer to them as the sanfei, or “triple illegal” persons.⁽³⁾

The Government’s response, in the form of the new local immigration law, is to enact new forms of control over immigrant populations. It explicitly encourages individuals to report on illegal immigrants living in their communities, and to prevent immigrants from accessing housing, work, and financial services without proper identification. A scholar from Hong Kong in the article from The South China Daily argues that these laws, rather than being “civilised, humane, and fair” immigration regulations, may in fact pose real threats to the rights of immigrants. In this case, he claims, Guangzhou will never be a truly “global” city.⁽⁴⁾

Immigration and development

For decades, a country’s understanding of immigration may only encompass its own experiences or needs, i.e. laws and regulations are enacted that situate the country in the role of “sending” immigrants abroad. However, as the country develops economically, foreign nationals respond to increased economic opportunities by immigrating. The roles and responsibilities of a “receiving” country, and the legal structures that need to be in place to effectively manage immigration, are quite different from the earlier demands. Thus, at some point in their development trajectory, most countries must confront this shift with the creation of new policies.

Since reform and opening in 1978, China has seen some influx of foreigners, but in the first two decades or so, this population was largely limited to businesspeople from developed countries, overseas and ethnic Chinese, Koreans and Japanese and laowai from Europe, North America, and Oceania. These businesspeople brought increased ties to the global economy, FDI and new cultural norms, which for the most part incentivised the Government to have a relatively lenient hand with visa violations, such as overstaying or finding paid work. However, according to Hong Kong scholar Fu Hualing, the Government’s experience dealing with “rich Westerners” has not helped them to adjust to new migration flows from Africa.⁽⁵⁾

Relations between China and the global south, Africa in particular, have never been stronger than they are today. China’s pursuit of favourable bilateral trade and investment agreements has cemented this global “partnership” as a crucial part of what Beijing calls “mutually beneficial development”. Total trade between China and Africa in 2010 surpassed US$ 100 billion.⁽⁶⁾ Additionally, China’s active engagement in development assistance on the African continent has strengthened political, social and cultural ties. According to the January 2010 issue of The China Monitor, sixteen Confucius Institutes have been established in Africa since 2005.⁽⁷⁾ The Institutes aim to promote Chinese language and culture, and partner with local universities to bring in visiting Chinese scholars and volunteer teachers.⁽⁸⁾

Changes in the airline industry perhaps illustrate most concretely the close relationship between China and Africa. Since 2007, major national airlines have established direct routes from Nairobi, Cairo, Lagos, and Johannesburg and many analysts note that demand for these flights remained relatively unaffected by the global recession.⁽⁹⁾ Ethiopian Airlines unveiled its third flight to the mainland early in April 2011, from Addis Ababa to Hangzhou.⁽¹⁰⁾ The growth and deepening of political and economic relations has a natural outcome, one to which the airlines are only responding - the growth of Sino-African travel and migration flows.
Moving up, moving east

At present, the total population of African immigrants to China is estimated at nearly a quarter of a million. They have come looking for business - they inhabit most major cities and have a strong presence in the manufacturing centre Yiwu, on the eastern coast near Hangzhou and Shanghai. By far, the most vibrant communities have been formed in Guangzhou; there the African population has been estimated at anywhere from 20,000 to 50,000.⁽¹¹⁾ They come from a broad range of countries, with the largest population coming from Nigeria;⁽¹²⁾ they may migrate for just a few weeks or months at a time to secure business deals, or may remain a decade or more, eventually moving their families or starting new ones in China. Several African countries have cooperated with their embassies in Beijing to set up “associations” in China that provide support for business and social development citizens in China, including Nigeria, Zambia, South Africa, and others.

Over the past decade, major newspapers around the world have featured stories of the lives of traders in Guangzhou’s “Chocolate City”. A New Yorker article from 2009 points to both the transiency of the businesspeople involved in trade, who change location and specialisation unpredictably, and the strength of the community built up around immigrants - the presence of soccer teams, the availability of fufu and plantains, and the predominance of African Christians in Guangzhou’s churches.⁽¹³⁾ Interviews with African traders return to narratives of opportunity - into which the black-and-white discussions of legality rarely enter - but also highlight the challenges of confronting discrimination and ignorance on the part of the Chinese.

The reception of Africans in China is fraught at best. Based on internet user responses to the 30 March 2011 article, Chinese attitudes toward immigrants show a range of emotions. Vehemently xenophobic and racist comments do exist; more frequently, netizens argue for stricter regulation out of their own economic self-interest, concerned about competition from African traders and establishments.⁽¹⁴⁾ China faces its own problems of unemployment, others claim. Why exacerbate the situation by admitting immigrants from “poor countries in Africa and Southeast Asia”? Furthermore, given that population control is such a serious issue for the Government that they instituted and continue to maintain the One-Child Policy, why admit foreigners - especially if they are just “ordinary”, without any exceptional talents?

Some rare voices do call for diversity, as part of an ideal of globalisation - one commentator complains that with such restrictions (or, perhaps, such reactions) “Guangzhou’s dream of becoming a global metropolis gets further and further away”.⁽¹⁵⁾ However, since African immigration’s estimated peak in 2004, relations between immigrants and locals have been unstable, hitting an especially low point in 2009 with the deaths of two Nigerians fleeing Chinese police. Since then, local expectations for regulation have continued to mount, evidenced by several online comments echoing the sentiment, “It’s about time”.

Immigration policy with Chinese characteristics

The Chinese context may pose particular challenges for the development of immigration policy that will help ensure continued economic development. Scholars and journalists, as well as ordinary individuals, frequently comment on the impact of timing on visa and immigration enforcement in China.⁽¹⁷⁾ For example, during the lead-up to the 2008 Olympic Games and the 2010 Shanghai Expo and Asian Games (in Guangzhou), the Government cracks down on illegal immigration and restricts the amount of renewals or updates it provides. These actions purportedly help to maintain social stability and contribute to the image of a “harmonious society” promoted by the Hu-Wen administration. However, they frustrate many foreign nationals who are affected by sudden changes in policy implementation and enforcement. As the 109th session of the China Import and Export Fair will take place over the next three weeks or so (mid-April to early May 2011),⁽¹⁸⁾ one may expect more stringent regulation of immigrants already in Guangzhou.

The Chinese policy environment also makes it very hard to use existing policy to approximate a Government position on immigration. For example, the decentralisation of most policy implementation and enforcement means that Beijing’s interests in promoting stable international relations and in abiding by international norms of migration may not be shared by provincial or municipal officials. Additionally, local officials face a variety of incentives in legislating and enforcing such regulations. Some may see the presence of the African business community as an economic boom, and seek to use their political connections to protect traders. Others may use drugs, criminal activity, or general “disorder” as incentive for cracking down. In Guangzhou, the Public Security Bureau, Foreign Affairs Office, and Commerce office have very different perspectives and prerogatives when it comes to immigration policy.⁽¹⁹⁾

At the moment, most African traders enter China on three-month tourist visas, regardless of the duration of their stay. Some immigrants, who have married Chinese or who have started local businesses with Chinese partners, make the trip to the visa offices on schedule, four times a year, braving long waits and high renewal fees, as well as the uncertainty brought about by the ever-changing commitment to policy enforcement.⁽²⁰⁾ In 2005, the country enacted a pilot policy similar to the US “green card”, which would permit foreigners with substantial investments, connections, and time spent in China to apply for long-term stays. However, reports indicate that the demands are too stringent, and the cost too high for it to be a sustainable solution for most foreigners.

Conclusion

China looms as the newest colonial power bent on extracting natural resources and entering domestic markets, while emphasising south-south cooperation and partnership. China has held up its bargain, committing to massive infrastructure and natural resource investments in Africa. It has acted bilaterally and multilaterally in the fields of development and technical assistance, especially education and healthcare.

Now the challenge for continued rapprochement between China and Africa consists in China’s opening its own markets and economic opportunities to entrepreneurs from the continent. Without progressive, humane immigration laws that can be easily accessed and understood, China’s lack of openness to African immigration may call into question its commitments to “mutual development”.

NOTES:

(1) Contact Sarah M. Brooks through Consultancy Africa Intelligence's Asia Dimension Unit ( asia.dimension@consultancyafrica.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).
(2) Yang Dingdu, Wang Pan, and Liu Wanli, “Burgeoning African community tests China’s engagement with world”, Xinhua News Agency, 5 October 2009, http://news.xinhuanet.com.
(3) Le Bail, Helene, “Foreign migration to China’s city-markets: the case of African merchants”, Centre Asie IFRI, August 2009, www.ifri.org.
(4) “Guangdong cracks down on illegal immigrants”, Chongqing Takungpao, 2 April 2011, http://cq.takungpao.com.
(5) Law, Violet, “China welcomes growing African trade, but not the Africans who facilitate it”, Christian Science Monitor, 25 November 2010, http://www.csmonitor.com.
(6) French, Howard W, “The Next Empire”, The Atlantic, May 2010, http://www.theatlantic.com.
(7) Kotze, Robert, “Notes from the recent Confucius Institute Africa Regional Conference”, The China Monitor, Centre for Chinese Studies, University of Stellenbosch, January 2010. Vol. 47: 4, http://www.ccs.org.za.
(8) “Introduction to the Confucius Institutes”, 29 August 2009, http://college.chinese.cn.
(9) D’angelo, Audrey, “Business growth fills flights between China, SA”, IOL News, 12 April 2011, http://www.iol.co.za.
(10) “Ethiopian to start new flights to Hangzhou”, Ethiopian Journal, 7 March 2011, http://www.ethjournal.com.
(11) Bodomo, Adams, “The African Presence in Contemporary China”, The China Monitor, Centre for Chinese Studies, University of Stellenbosch, January 2009, Vol. 36: 4, http://www.ccs.org.za.; Osnos, Evan, “The Promised Land: Letter from China”, The New Yorker, 9 February 2009, Vol. 85, Issue 1; pg. 50.
(12) Branigan, Tania, “China cracks down on African immigrants and traders”, The Guardian, 6 October 2010, http://www.guardian.co.uk.
(13) Osnos, Evan, “The Promised Land: Letter from China”, The New Yorker, 9 February 2009. Vol. 85, Issue 1, pg. 50.
(14) Comments: “Foreign Media: Like Europe, Guangdong must crack down on illegal immigration”, 2 April 2011, http://www.huanqiu.com.
(15) Ibid.
(16) Ibid.
(17) Pamplin-Bailey, Natasha, “Making it in China: The South African Experience”, The China Monitor, Centre for Chinese Studies, University of Stellenbosch, August 2009, Vol. 43: 5, http://www.ccs.org.za.
(18) Canton Fair Online, http://www.cantonfair.org.cn.
(19) Yang Dingdu, Wang Pan, and Liu Wanli, “Burgeoning African community tests China’s engagement with world”, Xinhua News Agency, 5 October 2009, http://news.xinhuanet.com.
(20) Law, Violet, “China welcomes growing African trade, but not the Africans who facilitate it”, Christian Science Monitor, 25 November 2010, http://www.csmonitor.com.

Written by Sarah M. Brooks ⁽¹⁾