China fourth-largest source country of migrants

A recent report shows China has become the fourth-largest source country of migrants, with nearly 10 million Chinese migrants living outside of China.

World Migration Report 2018,the ninth in the series since 2000, was jointly released by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Center for China and Globalization (CCG) in Beijing on Tuesday.

According to the report, migrants from China make up the fourth-largest population of foreign-born migrants in the world after India, Mexico and Russia. Nearly 10 million Chinese migrants living outside of China and over two million Chinese-born emigrants resided in the United States.

The report added that migration is increasingly marked by significant outward and inward student mobility in Eastern Asia. In the academic year 2015/2016, China, the Republic of Korea and Japan ranked among the top 10 countries of origin of international students in the United States, and among which more than 300,000 students were from China alone. However, Eastern Asia is not only a major origin of international students, but is also gradually becoming an important destination for foreign students. For instance, more students from the Republic of Korea are choosing to study in China.

Besides international migration, the report also highlighted that internal migration remains a significant feature in East Asian countries. For example, most Chinese people have migrated from Western provinces to Eastern provinces. In China, Western provinces are regarded as areas that have high population growth rates, a surplus of workers and lower incomes, while the Eastern provinces have a shortage of workers, higher incomes and education levels.

Mr Pӓr LILJERT, Chief of Mission, IOM Office in China, said "Migration results from couple of reasons. Unbalanced development has been one of the driving factors for migration. Usually people might choose to migrate from underdeveloped areas to developed ones for better life."

"The adoption of reform and opening-up policy in 1978 has given rise to rapid economic development across the nation, particularly the coastal provinces, where the magnetic effect of migration for other parts of China, particularly the Western provinces and regions has been quite obvious," he added.