»Research on Chinese migration« usually refers to research on the emigration and lives of Chinese migrants around the globe. But in the past two decades, the term »Chinese migration« could also be extended to the phenomenon of immigration to China, i.e. the process of moving to China, both by ethnic Chinese living outside China and by so-called »foreigners« or citizens of other countries without a Chinese background. The number of both groups rose steadily until 2018, after which there has been a sharp decline, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic measures. During its secondment to the XJTLU in 2024 as part of the PoPMeD-SuSDeV project, the ZRC SAZU team focussed on the wellbeing of the latter group, which is still largely statistically invisible due to its relatively small numbers. The researchers – most of whom come from the Slovenian Migration Institute at ZRC SAZU - decided to focus on migrants from Slovenia who have lived in China for more than a year in the last 10 years. We were interested in their everyday experiences, ranging from issues of work-life balance, perceptions of foreignness/whiteness and inclusion, maintaining relationships with family and friends in Slovenia, and their expectations for the future, in an attempt to gain a more holistic understanding of their wellbeing in China.

Sitting in the neat and tidy CEO's office of a smaller Slovenian production subsidiary, we heard how lively the social gatherings of Slovenians in China used to be. There were people from company X, but also people from companies Y and Z, and they met in the expats' bars or organised, usually once a year, a big outdoor picnic in Suzhou – a kind of hub for Slovenian migrants. Slovenians from as far away as Beijing also came here for such events. That seems to be a distant memory now – many left either before or during the COVID-19 measures, while the companies also changed ownership and became either Chinese, German or Spanish, so many Slovenian employees were made redundant. Our research team deliberately focussed on Suzhou, only to find that most of them left or relocated to other large cities.

Despite this revelation, we were not discouraged and ventured beyond Suzhou to meet our interlocutors in other parts of Eastern China, including Beijing. In just one month, we managed to conduct 17 interviews that revealed a very complex picture of the migration movement from a small European country to China, reflecting many of the past and current trends of European migration to China.[1] The existing research on immigration to China highlights that the foreign population from Western countries living in China has been undergoing transformations in terms of its composition and its (self-)perception and intentions.[2] While representatives and employees of foreign companies were often seen as the most important group among migrants from most developed countries (e.g. USA, UK, Germany...), their numbers started to decline before the COVID-19 outbreak and dropped sharply during and after the COVID-19 measures.[3] However, as the MERICS[4] researchers write, the vast majority of migrants arrived independently, found work or started a business and also got married and had children.[5]

Our interlocutors belong to both groups and follow the trend described above: –decreasing numbers of corporate »expatriates« from companies and increasing number of young, flexible, ambitious and adventurous individuals who seem to have stumbled upon China by chance and are eager to find their own way there – either through professional jobs or through entrepreneurship. Although there is no clear-cut boundary in the lifestyles of either group, the former tends to inhabit the social worlds comprised mainly of non-Chinese, or what is known as the expat bubble. The latter group, on the other hand, often finds local partners or spouses and moves into a much more diverse environment that includes Chinese and foreign social circles. Although much has been written recently about the changing perceptions of whiteness and foreignness in China (see Lan (2016), Camenisch (2022)), our interlocutors did not attach much importance to this aspect of life in China; they did not find 'white privilege' nor did they feel racialised. This attitude is somewhat curious and could best be explained by the perception of race both in Slovenia and in the particular social milieu in China to which our interlocutors belong.

Given our focus on wellbeing, we were particularly interested in a range of issues relating to health and wellbeing choices. As our interlocutors were mostly under the age of 50, they had not frequently utilised the Chinese healthcare system. Nevertheless, when describing their experiences, they all expressed satisfaction with the organisation and health outcomes, as well as with overcoming language barriers. They also acknowledged that the cost of a smooth service is higher and were knowledgeable about top health institutions for foreigners. The Covid-19 measures proved to be an important issue that has had a profound impact on their lives. For some, it prompted or further decisions to leave China, for others it temporarily cut them off from China. Interestingly, some arrived during the COVID-19 measures and spent the first year or two living in very specific conditions – their responses ranged from extreme loneliness and isolation to becoming involved as a community organiser in their neighbourhood and even becoming a local celebrity. It seems that regular physical activity is an important aspect of dealing with inclusion and stress – most of our interlocutors mentioned sports and work-out as an important daily activity, even during COVID-19 when they were confined to their quarantine rooms or neighbourhood.

The responses described are part of the first phase of our research – after the very interesting and often very lengthy conversations (sometimes more than 5 hours), we now need to organise the material, transcribe it and then start the analysis that will hopefully give deeper insights into the lives of a specific group of migrants in China. The ZRC SAZU team is very grateful to the interlocutors for their time and willingness to share their experiences.

Written by Martina Bofulin (ZRC SAZU)

[1] Bickenbach & Liu (2022), Goodbye China: What Do Fewer Foreigners Mean for Multinationals and the Chinese Economy, https://www.intereconomics.eu/contents/year/2022/number/5/article/goodbye-china-what-do-fewer-foreigners-mean-for-multinationals-and-the-chinese-economy.html

[2] Pieke et al (2019), How Immigration is shaping Chinese society, https://www.merics.org/en/report/how-immigrationshapingchinesesociety#:~:text=Foreign%20immigration%20in%20China%20is,are%20also%20on%20the%20rise.

[3] Bickenbach & Liu (2022), Goodbye China: What Do Fewer Foreigners Mean for Multinationals and the Chinese Economy, https://www.intereconomics.eu/contents/year/2022/number/5/article/goodbye-china-what-do-fewer-foreigners-mean-for-multinationals-and-the-chinese-economy.html

[4] MERICS is short for Mercator Institute for China Studies, the largest German think tank focusing on China.

[5] Pieke et al (2019), How Immigration is shaping Chinese society, https://www.merics.org/en/report/how-immigrationshapingchinesesociety#:~:text=Foreign%20immigration%20in%20China%20is,are%20also%20on%20the%20rise.