https://www.washingtonpost.com/opin...e6a7524553f_story.html?utm_term=.bc247e618771
If China is doing so well, why do so many Chinese think of moving here?
The signs of America’s decline and China’s rise seem to be everywhere: The U.S. middle class is stagnating while China’s continues its meteoric ascent. Our manufacturing sector has been eclipsed by Chinese factories churning out iPhones. The schools in China put ours to shame. It’s only a matter of time before we’re all speaking Chinese.
That’s the American perception, bolstered by the recent presidential campaign.
You won’t hear that kind of talk in China, though.
I recently spent three weeks in Beijing and Dongguan, an industrial city in the south, looking for stories about China’s economy, which is experiencing
its slowest growth rate in years. I asked everyday citizens about the real estate market or the manufacturing sector, but in nearly every interview, deep concerns about the future of the country tumbled out, often unprompted.
It’s hard to get ahead these days, people kept saying, no matter how hard you work. The gap between rich and poor is widening. The education system is begging for an overhaul. The government is corrupt and needs massive reform.
This was not the country President Obama and Mitt Romney were talking about on the campaign trail — a giant poised to crush the United States if we don’t stay competitive. Instead, it was a nation wracked with anxieties, some of them strikingly like those of our middle class.
China-watchers know all this and can easily tick off the many problems facing the country at this moment, just as
a new generation of leadersassumes power. But average Americans consistently overestimate China’s strength.
Consider this recent Pew Global Attitudessurvey: When asked which country had the world’s leading economy, 41 percent of Americans said it was China, even though China’s economy is one-third the size of ours. Per capita income in the United States is nearly nine times the Chinese figure, which ranks 84th in the world, lower than Azerbaijan, Lebanon and Chile, according to the World Bank.
For their part, many Chinese have put the United States on a pedestal, envisioning a place with better schools, cleaner air and more charismatic leaders. And they are making plans to emigrate here.
Guo Hui, a Beijing resident, invited me into his home to talk about China’s real estate market, but we wound up spending two hours discussing the future of the country and his plans for his family.
Guo’s apartment was sleekly modern, with tall ceilings and children’s toys covering nearly every surface. He and his wife are educated, urban and upper-middle-class — exactly the kind of people you imagine thriving in an ascendant China.
Yet they hope to move to the United States within the next few years. Their 1-year-old son was born here while they were visiting as tourists, and he has an English name, Daniel.
“People like me who have made money by our own efforts — we feel like we can’t make money on our own anymore,” Guo explained as we sat on his floor, watching Daniel toddle around the living room. He made his money in public relations and is an avid stock market investor. Still, he said, “people with contacts with the government can get ahead, but other people cannot.”
A joint survey released in April 2011 by China Merchants Bank and Bain & Co. showed that almost 60 percent of wealthy Chinese were considering emigrating, had begun taking steps to do so or had emigrated already.
The United States is a popular destination, in part because of a program called EB5 that offers visas to people who invest at least $1 million and create at least 10 jobs here.
The number of applications from China has jumped nearly ninefold since 2007, up to 2,408 last year.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-09/if-china-is-on-the-rise-why-do-many-want-to-leave/10214604
For 33-year old Shanghai-resident Lucy Lu, it is her children's education that's driving her towards Australia.
Key points:
- A recent vaccine safety scandal prompted many parents in China to express a lack of faith in the country's inoculations
- The Chinese Yuan has depreciated 6 per cent since June
- Residents are only allowed to move more than $US50,000 out of the country each year
"I feel Chinese education doesn't let people breathe. The pressure is huge," she said.
The mother of two, along with her husband, have employed a migration lawyer to plan a move to Australia, possibly to Melbourne.
They are attracted by the good environment, the more "laid-back" school culture and they have a relative who has lived in Australia for 20 years.
PHOTO: Shanghai resident Lucy Lu and her family are considering moving to Australia. (Supplied: Lucy Lu)
But they are also seeking respite from a country where tremendous economic progress has not always meant improvements in other areas.
"Even though China's economy is very good, there are other aspects where we feel the flaws and holes are still quite large," Ms Lu said.
Ms Lu cites the hyper-competitive education system — known for rote-learning rather than encouraging critical thinking — and air pollution as her major concerns.
But in recent months,
a vaccine safety scandalprompted many parents across China to express a profound lack of faith in the ability of authorities to ensure their children receive safe inoculations.
Adding to concerns is a 6 per cent depreciation of the Chinese Yuan since June in the face of the United States tariff challenge.
As China's government restricts citizens from moving more than $US50,000 ($69,700) out of the country each year (without special permission), there is also, anecdotally, growing concern about the long-term health of the economy and the value of people's assets.
"Leaving a very familiar environment with friends and family to move to a completely unfamiliar place is indeed a very big decision," said Zoe Ye, who moved to Australia four years ago after getting married.
"But when I think about the environment in China and educating my young child, I think living in Australia is not a bad choice at all," she said.
PHOTO: Some parents expressed concern about the safety of inoculations in China, file photo. (AP: Chinatopix)
China's government does not publicly release figures for the number of citizens emigrating, but last year reported 130 million people went overseas for tourism while 600,000 students left to study abroad.
A 2017 United Nations report lists the number of Chinese migrants who left after 2000 and are still living outside China at 10 million, while China's government claims there is roughly 50-60 million overseas Chinese — a figure that includes People's Republic of China citizens and foreign citizens of Chinese ancestry.
Many aim for permanent residency, not citizenship
China in Focus
The rise of China has everyone talking. In a special series, RN examines Australia's relationship to China, and its rising prominence in global affairs.
Last year the Australian government granted more than 28,000 visas to Chinese nationals for permanent migration, down from a peak of more than 29,000 in 2011.
A tightening of visa rules means even if more citizens do seek to start a new life in Australia, it will be more competitive to get a place.
"I believe more people are thinking about moving overseas than taking actual actions", said Tian Li, a migration agent from the Newstone Group in Melbourne.
Another agent, Vicky Chen of Sydney-based agency New Point says inquiries have been picking up consistently in the past two years.
"Every day I'll receive at least four or five inquiries from people in China and roughly the same number from people already in Australia," Ms Chen said.
PHOTO: Two women wear face masks to protect themselves from pollution in Beijing. (ABC News: Zhang Qian)
China does not recognise dual nationality, so many applicants say in the long run they aim to obtain permanent residency rather than to become Australian citizens.
"I'll need to hear the perspectives of others who have gone over to Australia, and experience life there first", Ms Lu said.
"As to whether I'd want to get an Australian passport — it's not easy to answer that question now."
