How the rise of China’s middle class migrants is challenging Australian fears

How the rise of China’s middle class migrants is challenging Australian fears

"New research shows there has been a marked change in the profile of Chinese migrants arriving in Australia. Rather than common stereotypes that paint Chinese migrants in one of two extremes – impoverished hopefuls in the land of plenty or ultra-rich property buyers pushing up prices for locals – the research shows the migrants of today are a product of China’s burgeoning “new middle class”.

The modern migrant is likely to be highly skilled, educated, and investment-focused, as likely to be drawn to the country for its clean air and lifestyle as anything else. Not only that, but higher levels of English and varied immigration schemes are helping them to settle in areas far beyond traditional ethnic Chinese enclaves in Sydney and Melbourne.

In a recent paper titled ‘Shifting dynamics of Chinese settlement in Australia: an urban geographic perspective’, human geographer Thomas Sigler and his fellow authors at the University of Queensland identify the year 2000 as a watershed in this great migration.

Before this, ethnic Chinese in Australia were typically economic migrants born outside mainland China, with many coming from Hong Kong and Taiwan.

But Sigler and company say that since then, visa schemes designed to encourage foreign real estate investment as well as skilled worker and student migration have resulted in an influx of affluent and educated mainland Chinese.

More than half of all mainland-China-born immigrants in Australia moved there between 2006 and 2015, according to scholars Dallas Rogers and Ilan Wiesel, and by 2016, mainland Chinese living in Australia accounted for 2.1 per cent of the country’s population.

Not only are Chinese migrants growing in number – they are spreading farther into the country.

While Sydney and Melbourne are still home to the lion’s share of mainland China-born migrants, there have been dramatic increases in the numbers of Chinese settlers in medium-sized capital cities such as Adelaide and Perth.

Part of the reason for this is that the rise of China’s middle class has brought about higher levels of education – and, in particular, English-language ability...

While scholars had projected this influx of migrants would lead to more multicultural neighbourhoods, Sigler and his colleagues found that on the contrary, Chinese migrants were still likely to live in ethnic enclaves – it was just that these enclaves were more numerous and more spread out...

Helping to drive this great migration is Australia’s reputation as a stable democracy with solid infrastructure and a respected education system. Its proximity to China also appeals.

“The education, medical and even social system is more advanced in Australia. This will be beneficial for our next generation”...

“Compared with other top liveable cities in the world, Australian cities have the best policies and multicultural environment for new migrants.”

However, there is another reason China’s middle class is attracted to Australia: government policy has shifted to embrace them...

Australia is set to overtake Britain as the second most popular destination for international students (the United States is No 1), and this is a trend the Australian government appears eager to encourage.

“Applying for a student visa to come to Australia was a lot easier than America, at least at the time I was applying”...

Students from China now make up the largest portion of Australia’s foreign student intake. As of June 30 this year, almost a quarter (23.1 per cent) of the 486,934 student visa holders in Australia were Chinese nationals.

Australia also attracts capital from foreign investors through programmes like the “golden ticket” Significant Investor Visa (SIV).

The SIV is open to all nationalities but is targeted at Chinese investors who commit A$5 million in “complying investments” to qualify for a four-year visa that can be converted to permanent residency. Nearly 90 per cent of SIVs for the top source countries were granted to Chinese nationals...

China’s new breed of mobile migrant worker has also spawned anxiety in some quarters – an anxiety that often plays out in newspaper articles in which the Chinese community is made the bogeyman for Australia’s housing affordability crisis."