Out of Africa: New Patterns of Settlement for African Immigrants in China

Bo Zhou, University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY)

As its economy continues to reach new highs, China becomes more and more attractive to foreigners who look for employment and business opportunities either for short term stay or long term settlement. China is on the way to become a new country of immigrant destination in the 21st century. Chinese government has been adjusting policies and regulations on immigrants and shorter term workers, based on the emerging problems and incidences involving immigrants. In this paper, I focus on a newly established organization in Chinese neighborhood: Foreigner Management and Service Center. It is a new kind of government sponsored institution that is first established in the city of Guangzhou in southern China. In this paper, I examine how immigrant service centers in Guangzhou facilitate Africans immigrants to adapt to the life in Guangzhou. The paper is based on public records as well as fieldwork in Guangzhou in the summer of 2012.