This report presents our major findings on temporary migration between Europe and China, as well as related policy issues. The report is mainly based on interviews with 80 respondents including 44 European migrants in China, 29 Chinese returnees from Europe and 7 family members of Chinese migrants in Europe, as well as interviews with 34 stakeholders representing Chinese government institutions, European embassies, and business and social organisations. Considering the vast geographical area of China, we hired and trained local interviewers to identify eligible respondents in three large cities: Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.
2.1 Politico-legal aspects
As for the definition of temporary migration, our interviewees working for government generally followed the official criteria of their affiliations. For example, the staff at European embassies tended to use the three-month threshold to distinguish temporary movements, or ‘short stays’, from longer or permanents ones, while the Immigration Department of Hong Kong views all types of non-immigrant residents as temporary migrants. Academics were inclined to emphasise that temporary migration is too dynamic to be a definitive concept. One expert on migration (scientist, local university, 10 April 2016) viewed the definition to be ‘very fluid’ in the context of globalisation: ‘we can roughly define temporary migrants as who is coming or going in a place’. Some suggested that ‘non-permanent migration’ could be a better term in the Chinese context, as it is more meaningful to define the foreign population by what they are not.
Our interviewees in the policy circle shared a general impression that temporary migration going in and out of China has been increasing rapidly in recent years. A European diplomat based in Beijing (official, national embassy, 21 January 2016) told us: ‘when you look at the number of [Schengen] visas we give to Chinese people, and these numbers are growing very fast, on average around 20 per cent a year’. Almost all interviewees also expected that migration flows would continue and increase between China and the EU. The primary reason is the intensifying bilateral relationship between the two regions, and the secondary reason lies in the political efforts to facilitate more population mobility between the two sides. For example, some respondents viewed China’s strategy of ‘the Belt and Road Initiative’1 as an important driver of international labour cooperation.
The interviewees also believed that European countries would adopt more favourable visa policies towards Chinese citizens in the near future. Most of them reported having collaboration or communication with related agencies and organisations in Europe or in China. One typical example is the ‘migration-mobility dialogue’ between EU delegates and Chinese officials over population movement, where related issues are now discussed on a regular basis.
With regard to the admission procedure in China, the Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People’s Republic of China, the most recent law, was promulgated in June 2012 and came into force on 1 July 2013. It replaced the previous related laws and is applicable to the administration of exit and entry of both Chinese citizens and foreigners. As a legal expert (researcher, national university, 29 March 2016) commented, ‘the new law has established a unified system … and improved a lot technically’. The central government also issued a new guideline at the end of 2015 which adopts a more liberal approach to the management of foreign permanent residents (MOP, 2016).
According to our interviewees, it was not difficult for foreigners to go through the administrative process of visa application and residence permit in China, but some complained about the lack of information or a relatively long waiting time of several months. In some cases, they might miss some business opportunities or international conferences during the waiting period. For example, one interviewee (researcher, local university, 6 May 2016) mentioned that he could only settle down to work at a university in China after going through a long process of paperwork for a visa, a residence permit and an expert card. Only when that applicant had become familiar with the process did he come to find a more efficient way. By contrast, European employees in Hong Kong were generally satisfied with the visa application, as the city has an independent and efficient visa system.
Another problem is that the regulations are still not operational enough due to a lack of detailed rules. For example, China provides protection for international refugees, but no detailed application procedure exists for asylum seeking in the country. Another example is the local requirement for applying for permanent residence. One foreign respondent (official, national embassy, 16 December 2015) complained: ‘There are different interpretations of laws in different [Chinese] cities … how can this be?’
A common policy concern was multiple government branches involved in migration management. Some complained that too many authorities are responsible for managing foreign nationals in China, and their coordination takes a lot of resources. Because five or six governmental branches are involved in the management of foreign nationals, some policy advocates have proposed establishing a new governmental agency to provide professional services, and China is preparing to establish such a bureau for more centralised management (The Paper News, 2016). In addition, several experts criticised that there are many loopholes of policy implementation. For example, an interviewee (director, local university, 13 April 2016) reported that policemen sometimes do not want to deal with troublesome cases of foreign students, so they shift the responsibility onto their universities.
From an administrative perspective, the current regulatory framework is not well integrated. Due to the lack of a single centralised system, the management of foreign migrants in China is not efficient and effective in respect to communication mechanisms, administrative cooperation and crisis management. The process of management is divided into three areas: visa issue, identity check and internal control. These belong to the policy sphere of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Public Security and local police forces, respectively. This administrative structure makes it difficult to share information between systems.
With regard to the repatriation of its diaspora, one feature of China’s migration policy is the discourse of ‘talent’. The new rules are largely designed for attracting highly-skilled foreign talent and facilitating foreign investment in China in order to serve the national economic strategy. Some commentators point out that China emphasises preferential treatment for foreigners of higher social status and ignores the accommodation of common foreigners (Haugen, 2015).
Overseas Chinese students have also been regarded as an important source of human capital. Several governmental agencies or government-organised civil organisations have been mobilised to attract its skilled diaspora through a variety of programmes. As one interviewee (official, national government, 4 August 2016) pointed out, these branches all set up programmes to attract innovative overseas Chinese back home, sometimes leading to unnecessary competition. An expert (researcher, national university, 6 April 2016) also pointed out that the related policies have some inconsistencies across these branches.
2.2 Socio-economic aspects
According to our interviews, Chinese returnees pursued education at European universities and accumulated human capital, while European migrants in China appreciated exotic culture and gained work experiences abroad. We also found that the temporary migrants on both sides benefitted from their overseas experiences. The returnees utilised their advanced knowledge and familiarity with foreign culture to obtain high payoff in the growing Chinese market. The European migrants acquired skills, and their expertise is generally appreciated in China. In addition, their foreignness is also attractive to employers. A French architect mentioned:
Sometimes they [Chinese colleagues] need me because I’m a foreigner and they give an international personality … for the image.
(employee, 1988, male, France, 21 May 2015)
As for the employment perspectives, several European students said that they expected that there were many more economic opportunities in China than in their own countries, so they should have a higher living standard in China. For example, one respondent we interviewed had obtained his citizenship in the Netherlands, and he explained why he chose to live in China:
life in the Netherlands is too boring. If you pick up a job at 25, you know your status at 60. It’s too stable, with no change. It’s too stable, with no change.
(employee, 1986, male, Netherlands, 8 June 2015)
Several European employees and entrepreneurs also expressed a strong interest in joining the economic boom in China, particularly when they could speak some Chinese.
The European interviewees had mixed feelings about the local working conditions and living environment, and they pointed out positive and negative aspects. Some felt that they did not develop a deep professional relationship with their colleagues or did not like the Chinese work ethic (e.g. no time for leisure, working on Sundays), which is loosely regulated by the government. These dissatisfactions may shape the opinions of potential migrants and hinder China from attracting foreign talent in future.
Additionally, social security and other services to foreign migrants are a major policy concern in China. Most Europeans we interviewed participated in certain kinds of social insurance programmes such as medical insurance, but they did not necessarily benefit from them. An expert on labour employment contracts (lawyer, multinational company, 7 April 2016) pointed out that it is almost meaningless for foreigners to participate in the social insurance system in China as they are very unlikely to become unemployed or retire there. As an alternative choice, many foreign companies purchased commercial insurance for their employees. China is also doing poorly in transferring social benefits for foreign migrants, and here it can learn from the policy practices of the European Union.
The returnees who accumulated human capital abroad were attracted by the business and job opportunities in China and pushed by the financial crisis in the Western countries. Some said that overseas Chinese students would first hunt for jobs in Europe and return home if they could not find a desirable position there. For other returnees, there were no push factors driving them home, and only pull factors attracting them to come back, as they believed that they would have better career development prospects in China. However, one expert on this brain circulation (professor, local university, 6 May 2016) also pointed out the negative selectivity of the return tide: ‘according to my observation, most people return after obtaining some credentials abroad, those truly high-end talents have not come back to China’. Another expert (researcher, national university, 6 April 2016) observed that returnees from the United States seem to be more entrepreneurial than their counte...
