Departing China Expat Families Outnumber Arrivals by Double: WSJ

Steven Schwankert | Feb 10, 2015 9:00 am | 1 comment | 4995 reads

This can't be good: twice as many expatriate families are leaving China as are arriving, according to a survey by moving firm UniGroup Relocation.

The US was the top destination of relocations from China, followed by "Germany, Singapore, and France," a Wall Street Journal write-up of the survey said, although it did not indicate whether these moves were returning to the United States or initial moves from China. The data was not specific to cities such as Beijing.

"According to the company’s customer data, twice as many people moved out of China than into the country in 2014," the article continues. Oh dear.

Relocations to China from the US were down 22 percent in 2014 over the previous year, the report said.

Reasons cited for the departures include rising costs of living, education, and operation China, improving economic conditions in the US and Europe, and of course, pollution.

"The moves do not represent a mass exodus out of developed Asia, however. Twice as many people moved to Japan as left last year, and movements in and out of Singapore and Malaysia stayed the same compared to the year before," WSJ reported.

Sigh.

Photo: Wikimedia

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laoshu's picture laoshu Submitted by Guest on Fri, 02/13/2015 - 09:09

It is difficult to have reliable figures but my analysis indeed confirms many foreigners are leaving and for a host of reasons; just check moving companies, foreign schools and head-hunters. Stringent and often ridiculous visa restrictions make that young professional with great ideas and energy can't get a work permit and visa ("too young, no experience") and foreigners over 60 are supposed to retire (most are denied a work permit), while expats over 60 exactly have so much to contribute. Then there is the pollution, a serious factor scaring away families (I am a bit of an expert in pollution...). But there is also an increasing anti-foreign sentiment – a major change for the previously "friendly Chinese". The business environment is not getting better either. Government "inspectors" check all small details of foreign-owned businesses (especially restaurants and alike) while Chinese-owned can pollute and do whatever they like. Try smoking in a foreign restaurant; go ahead in any Chinese bar or restaurant, no problem in most cases. Not all are the same for "the law". Then people wonder "why"?

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