Chinese leaving Spain: business, return and clichés
The Chinese community in Spain is beginning to return to their country. China's economic boom and a business model with no local roots are key to the return.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Why the Chinese community is starting to pack their bags in Spain
Is the migration flow reversing? Why are some businesses run by Chinese citizens closing, with their owners deciding to go back? Several explanations are on the table, and they don't all agree. The public conversation about the phenomenon mixes economic analysis with a good dose of clichés, but there are two or three lines of argument worth attention.
China, the great magnet drawing people back
The most emphatic explanation points to China. The Asian giant is now the world's leading power, the argument goes, and offers its citizens a standard of living comparable to or even higher than the one they had in Spain. In that scenario, returning is not a defeat but a rational decision: the same move made by many Spaniards who emigrated to the Americas and returned when the economy at home began to wobble.
A business model without roots
Another line of thought focuses on the kind of business many of these entrepreneurs set up. They are usually retail shops, with endless working hours and limited integration into the local social fabric. That means that when the business runs its course — retirement, a transfer of ownership, a move to a new neighbourhood — the decision to return is accelerated. A recent example: the traditional neighbourhood bar that, after its owner retired, has passed into the hands of a Chinese family. It is not an isolated case, but there are no statistics to quantify it either.
The background noise
The topic also drags along less nuanced opinions, which offer stereotypes instead of data. Some link the exodus to supposed social changes in Spain, and others use the Chinese case as a weapon against other groups of immigrants. That is noise, more than analysis. What remains underneath is a reasonable question: if China offers the same opportunities, why stay?
So, for those looking for a Chinese mechanic, the answer may be that he has gone back home. Or that he never existed. But irony is no substitute for data: the return is real, it is measurable and, above all, it makes sense.
Is the migration flow reversing? Why are some businesses run by Chinese citizens closing, with their owners deciding to go back? Several explanations are on the table, and they don't all agree. The public conversation about the phenomenon mixes economic analysis with a good dose of clichés, but there are two or three lines of argument worth attention.
China, the great magnet drawing people back
The most emphatic explanation points to China. The Asian giant is now the world's leading power, the argument goes, and offers its citizens a standard of living comparable to or even higher than the one they had in Spain. In that scenario, returning is not a defeat but a rational decision: the same move made by many Spaniards who emigrated to the Americas and returned when the economy at home began to wobble.
A business model without roots
Another line of thought focuses on the kind of business many of these entrepreneurs set up. They are usually retail shops, with endless working hours and limited integration into the local social fabric. That means that when the business runs its course — retirement, a transfer of ownership, a move to a new neighbourhood — the decision to return is accelerated. A recent example: the traditional neighbourhood bar that, after its owner retired, has passed into the hands of a Chinese family. It is not an isolated case, but there are no statistics to quantify it either.
The background noise
The topic also drags along less nuanced opinions, which offer stereotypes instead of data. Some link the exodus to supposed social changes in Spain, and others use the Chinese case as a weapon against other groups of immigrants. That is noise, more than analysis. What remains underneath is a reasonable question: if China offers the same opportunities, why stay?
So, for those looking for a Chinese mechanic, the answer may be that he has gone back home. Or that he never existed. But irony is no substitute for data: the return is real, it is measurable and, above all, it makes sense.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (10 replies).
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