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Who are overseas Chinese? Overseas Chinese. What

does this term mean? Where do they live? How

do they influence the second largest economy

in the World?

Overseas Chinese is a term used to refer to the approximately 46 million ethnic Chinese staying

outside of China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. Most live in Southeast Asia, where they make up a

majority of the population of Singapore and a significant minority population in Malaysia, Vietnam,

the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand.

The overseas population in those areas primarily arrived between the sixteenth and nineteenth

centuries, mainly from the provinces of Hainan, Guangdong, and Fujian. During the nineteenth and

twentieth Centuries, Chinese also migrated to Central and South America, and the United States, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and the nations of

Western Europe.

Overseas Chinese as a whole have retained their cultural identity and languages, as well as assimilated to varying degrees with the dominant culture of the

country. They also dominate almost all the economies of Southeast Asia and have in one way or another

played a paramount role in politics

During the Chinese revolution of 1911, most of the funding came from overseas Chinese. The People’s

Republic of China and the Republic of China has always maintained cabinet level ministries to deal

with overseas Chinese affairs and have some legislative representation for overseas Chinese.

Historical evolution of the Chinese diasporaChinese immigration first occurred thousands of years ago. Successive waves of immigration from China have

resulted in the existence of subgroups among overseas Chinese, such as the new and old immigrants

in Southern Asia, Latin America, Oceania, North America, Russia and South Africa.

The mass emigration that occurred from the nineteenth century to 1949 was majorly contributed by wars and starvation in Mainland China, as well as

civil unrest and political corruption. Many immigrants were illiterate or poorly educated coolies and

peasants who were sent to labor in America, Southern Asia, Australia, Malaya, and many other European

colonies.

Between 1850 and 1950s, an increasing number of Chinese workers, especially male peasants from

coastal provinces, started leaving their homeland to seek employment opportunities in Southeast Asia.

There was widespread instability and violence between the 1950’s and 1980’s in this region, shifting

the destination of Chinese migrants to more industrialized areas including North America, Japan,

Australia and Europe.

Most of them were skilled workers motivated by the growing demand for cheap manual labor elsewhere. The process is still evolving, and Chinese immigrants have developed an increasing multi-skilled and multi-class profile at par with the requirements of whatever

country they immigrate to.

Religious and economic concerns have also historically been major factors driving Chinese people abroad, for

instance, the migration of the Buddhist pilgrims to Southern, Eastern, and Central Asia. Sustained growth

has been a result of economic reforms in China, particularly the opening up policy enacted during the

1970s.

As a result, there were major changes in all aspects of the society with labor flexibility and privatization

leaving a large number of workers unemployed, unable to be reabsorbed by the internal market.

The polarization of the distribution of wealth, the consequent widening of the gap between the rich and poor, and also rural-urban mobility are all contributing factors to migration. Thus, people tend to migrate in search for a better quality of life (infrastructure and

services) and also for integration in the areas of destination.

Recently, China has a number of professionals and students leave China. Currently, there are more than 5 million PRC nationals out of China either

working or studying. Having sent over 2.6 million students overseas, China is the number one source

of international students since 1978.

Global assetOverseas Chinese make up a potentially

significant asset for mainland China, their citizenship notwithstanding. They have total

liquid assets estimation of $1.5-2 trillion. They possess a great amount of capital and also

relationships and expertise that can be incorporated into the development continuity

in the mainland as well as the entire world.

Generally, overseas Chinese economic involvement with China is more than India’s with the Indian

diaspora. Overseas Chinese are usually employed in farming, deforestation, and construction sectors while

others run their own businesses in retail, importing and real estate.

The Chinese in Southeast Asian countries have established themselves in finance, manufacturing, and commerce while those in North America are in

every profession from medicine to arts to academia. There was an article in Fortune magazine in 1987 which stated that most of the Asian wealth out of Japan was in the hands of the “so-called Overseas

Chinese,” describing them as exceptionally enterprising people.

There are a number of billionaire and multi-millionaires businessmen among the overseas

Chinese. Some notable names include Singapore’s Lee Seng Wee, Indonesia’s wealthiest businessman, Liem Sioe Liong, Hong Kong-based Y.K. Pao, and Li ka-Shing who has over the years acquired a net of $2.5 billion trading Hong Kong real estate and the founder and

chairman of Formosa Plastics Group, Y.C. Wang.

China’s direct investment in the west started in the mid-2000s and currently, Chinese firms can operate in

at least 35 out of 50 states in the US. The Chinese investment in the US also grew from less than $1

billion annually before 2008, to $5 billion in 2010. The growing Chinese investment in developed economies

could open up new opportunities for private investment in China’s domestic market.

The changing commercial realities are the major contributing factor f the Chinese people looking to invest in the developed economies. Chinese firms

have received the impetus to upgrade their technology, pursue high levels of the value chain

previously conceded by foreign firms, and augment managerial skills and staffing to remain globally

relevant and competitive.

Investment overseas is just perfect since the developed economies will offer the regulatory environment, workforce, and assets that the Chinese multinationals are looking for. More

investment flows should be expected in the coming years and the developed economies can expect to receive the substantial share of the $1 to $2 trillion

in direct investment that China is going to make around the world in the coming decade.

The rising era of Chinese investments is definitely bitter-sweet for the western businesses. The

emergence of these new Asian multinationals has obviously transformed the competitive landscape

with the US firms finding new competitors. There is also enhanced competition for the scarce global

assets, especially human talent.

Overseas Chinese encouraged to go back homeDespite the fact that India is ahead of China in total

remittance amounts from its overseas Chinese population ( US $70 billion vs. US$ 50 billion

annually).

BonusClick on the link below to read the full blog post!

https://blog.laowaicareer.com/overseas-chinese/

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