Chinese Migration to and within Europe: Continuity and Renewal in the Light of Demographic Factors and the Impact of Covid-19

Abstract

Abstract Under the changing demographic effects of Chinese migratory waves in Europe and in the global context of the Covid-19 pandemic, Chinese migratory patterns to Europe as well as the lives of migrants and their descendants in European countries have been renewed since the 2010s, both in material and symbolic or emotional ways. This special issue includes five articles shedding new light on the patterns of Chinese migration to Europe, and on the dynamics of their everyday lives in and beyond the European countries. As the special issue editor, I first argue that Chinese overseas, as an important part of global China, offer a privileged site of study for understanding Chinese society from inside and outside. Then, based on the literature review on Chinese migration to and within Europe from the 1980s to post-2020, I introduce specificities of contemporary Chinese migration to Europe and the Chinese presence in European countries, and highlight four main demographic features: the growth in the population of descendants, the aging of the first-generation migrants, the massive arrival of students and skilled migrants, and the feminization of migration. Thirdly, I provide an overview of the five articles included in this special issue. Finally, I conclude the introduction by underlying the contributions of this volume, the theoretical frameworks that they borrow and consolidate, and new avenues for research opened up by this special issue.