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African Immigrants Are Leaving China As Economic Opportunities Shrink

African Immigrants Are Leaving China As Economic Opportunities Shrink

With 13.5 million people, Guangzhou, China, is one of the most populous metropolitan areas on Earth, and it’s thought to have Asia’s largest African population.

Estimates of Africans living in the city range from 20,000 to as many as 200,000, which would represent almost 2 percent of residents. Most Africans live in an area less than four square miles in the central districts of Yuexiu and Baiyun known locally as “Chocolate City,” Al Jazeera reported.

Formerly known as Canton, the coastal city has a large foreign population and was home at one point to up to 200,000 Africans, according to a 2014 report by the Guangzhou Development Research Institute. Chinese authorities dispute that number.

In 2014 at the height of the Ebola crisis, the city’s vice mayor said there were about 16,000 Africans in Guangzhou, Channel News Asia reported.

Whichever estimate is correct, one trend seems undisputed – the African population in Guangzhou is shrinking.

Africans are leaving for elsewhere in Asia.  Locals say many leave because of China’s slowing economy and an unfavorable exchange rate.

From Channel NewsAsia. Story by Jeremy Koh

The first African traders started arriving in Guangzhou in the late 1990s, attracted by its annual international trade fair, China’s economic boom and the ease of doing commerce in the city.

One trend seems clear – the African population in Guangzhou is shrinking.

Togolese trader Soukou Jiji, 33, said he has seen many Africans leaving Guangzhou over the past year.

“Now the economy is not so good, and in my country, the dollar when you do an exchange is not so good. The profits are less, so you don’t see many foreigners coming to China,” he said.

Like many other Chinese businesses in this once manufacturing boom town, the Africans are leaving for greener pastures elsewhere in Asia.

Professor Lin Jiang from Guangzhou’s Sun Yat-sen University said: “China’s economy is going down, so our African friends might feel that the opportunities are not as good as 10 years ago, so they might start looking at Southeast Asian countries or India for opportunities. I feel that this is a natural result.”

But some are leaving because they feel they are increasingly less welcomed here.

Another Togolese trade named Florent said: “Sometimes they’ll check you. Some countries, like European countries, police cannot come to you and ask for your passport. But in China, they’ll come to you and ask for your passport.”

Read more at Channel NewsAsia.