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Africans in Guangzhou

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Africans in Guangzhou
Total population
13,652 (2019)
"almost to pre-pandemic levels" (2024)[1]
Languages
English, French, Igbo, Bambara and other African languages, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese
Religion

Africans in Guangzhou are African immigrants and African Chinese residents of Guangzhou, China.

Beginning in the late 1990s economic boom, an influx of thousands of African traders and business people, predominantly from West Africa, arrived in Guangzhou and created an African community in the middle of the southern Chinese metropolis.[2]

Since 2014, the city's African population has significantly declined due to strict immigration enforcement by Chinese authorities and economic pressures in home countries, including depreciation of the Nigerian naira and Angolan kwanza.[3][4][5][6]

Population

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The southern end of Baohan Straight Street, Dengfeng Subdistrict, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou
Some Africans seen in Guangzhou, 2014

Estimating the number of Africans in Guangzhou is difficult due to the highly mobile and transient nature of the community. Most arrivals are short-term visitors engaged in trade, which can lead to inflated perceptions of the resident population. For instance, official figures recorded 430,000 arrivals and departures by African nationals at city checkpoints in the first nine months of 2014—figures that include repeat entries and do not reflect long-term residency.[7]

In response to public concern during the 2014 Ebola outbreak, Guangzhou authorities stated that approximately 16,000 Africans, including North Africans, were living in the city. Of these, only about 4,000 were considered long-term residents, defined as those staying over six months.[7][8]

A 2020 report estimated that 500,000 Africans were living in China, with around 100,000 in Guangzhou alone.[9] Scholar Adams Bodomo had earlier estimated over 500,000 Africans in China in 2012,[10] though his figure, based primarily on fieldwork, has been criticized as an overestimate due to the community's mobility.[11]

Following 2014, population estimates began to decline. A 2014 article in This Is Africa cited stricter immigration enforcement and currency exchange issues as reasons for the decrease.[3][6] In 2016, CNN reported that thousands of African migrants had left Guangzhou in the preceding 18 months.[4] By early 2017, official data indicated that the number of African residents had dropped to 10,344.[12] According to the Public Security Bureau of Guangzhou, the figure declined further to 4,553 by 2020.[13] Researcher Roberto Castillo attributes this trend in part to the COVID-19 pandemic and stricter enforcement against overstayers.[14]

By 2024, the African population in Guangzhou had reportedly rebounded to near pre-pandemic levels. This recovery is credited to the reopening of China's borders, renewed trade activity, and the easing of pandemic-era immigration controls.[1]

Among African nationalities in Guangzhou, the largest groups are from Nigeria and Mali. Nigerians, mainly of the Igbo ethnicity, constitute the largest group overall, while Malians represent a significant portion of long-term residents.[8][15][16] Other notable communities include migrants from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, and Senegal, with a few hundred individuals from each country registered with civic groups as of 2014.[15]

Neighborhoods

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There are two main areas where Africans live and do business in Guangzhou: Xiaobei and Guangyuanxi, both areas in the centrally located Yuexiu District.[16]

The area of Xiaobei is near Xiaobei station and home to several streets catering to African and Middle Eastern residents. Since the area was home to an existing Muslim population from Ningxia and Xinjiang, many African immigrants, around half of whom are Muslims, congregated around one area of town primarily because of the convenience in finding halal food.[17] Owing to the neighborhood's history there are slightly more Muslim Africans than Christian Africans in Xiaobei.[16] The nerve center of the area is Baohan Straight Street where there are African orientated shops and restaurants.[16] The street was repaved in 2015 and many of the hawkers have departed or set up shops.[16]

About 3 kilometres (2 mi) from Xiaobei and north of the Guangzhou railway station is Guangyuanxi, a more business orientated area with a major presence of Nigerian Igbo people.[16] The area is filled with large trademarts selling shoes, clothing, and other goods.[16] The trademarts are housed in large buildings called Tong Tong Trade Mart, Tian'en Clothing Market, Tangqi Building, Canaan Market, and Ying Fu Building. Since stricter immigration enforcement in the summer of 2013, this area has become much more dormant than before.[16]

History

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1990s and 2000s

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Since China's economic boom in the 1990s, thousands of Africans migrated to China; most of these migrants were from West Africa.[2] Many Africans left Indonesia and Thailand and went to Guangzhou after the 1997 Asian financial crisis, and the economic opportunity attracted more.[18]

In Guangzhou, Africans are generally engaged in commerce, visiting or residing in the city because of its wholesale trading markets supplied by nearby factories. During the 2000s, the city's African population rapidly increased with a 2008 news report stating the number of African residents had increased by 30% to 40% annually.[19]

Riots in 2009 and 2012

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Conflict between the African community and police in Guangzhou resulted in riots in 2009 and 2012. In July 2009, two Nigerian men jumped several floors from a building in an attempt to flee Chinese immigration authorities.[2][20] Both men were hurt from the fall.[21] But on hearing rumors of their deaths, hundreds of Africans, mostly Nigerian, surrounded a local police station.[21] The demonstration escalated into a riot that shut down eight lanes of traffic on a major thoroughfare for several hours.[20][22]

In June 2012, an African held in police custody after a taxi fare dispute died after "suddenly losing consciousness", according to police.[23] Over a hundred Africans gathered at the police station in question demanding to know the cause of death. Guangzhou police responded with a statement that they would "investigate and settle this case strictly by law" and also that "All should abide by the law of China; no one should harm public interests or damage public order."[23]

Stricter immigration enforcement

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A large scale immigration enforcement sweep was conducted by local police in July and August 2013.[24] Media reports have reported a decline in the local African population since 2014 with stricter immigration cited as one of the reasons.[3][4][25]

The system of immigration that had been in place since 2013 in Yuexiu District appeared to undergo change in summer 2018, with media reports that several low cost hotels and apartments in the area had prohibited African guests or singled out passport holders from Uganda and Nigeria, and shops and restaurants catering to Africans had been closed.[26][27] The Uganda daily Daily Monitor spoke to Ugandans in Guangzhou who reported being advised to stay in more costly 4 or 5-star hotels, and other sources for the newspaper claimed the crackdown targeting Ugandans had followed an increasing number of Ugandan criminal suspects in China charged with drug trafficking, with the suspects allegedly being Nigerian citizens that obtained Ugandan passports through bribing "rogue" Ugandan immigration officials.[27] A newspaper source described as a "senior government official" in Uganda blamed the Ministry of Internal Affairs for illegally selling Ugandan passports.[27] A spokesperson for the Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control, under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, responded that the Ugandan passports were stolen or sold by Ugandan individuals.[27]

COVID-19 pandemic

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See also: Xenophobia and racism related to the COVID-19 pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China, reports became widespread of Africans of Guangzhou being evicted from flats and hotels by landlords, and having difficulty in finding food and shelter as a result.[28][29][30][31] Some became homeless and had to sleep on the street.[32][33]

On 11 April, the United States Consulate General in Guangzhou warned African-Americans to avoid travel to the Guangzhou city, with a report by some African-Americans that "some businesses and hotels refuse to do business with them".[32] The Consulate further raised a travel warning to announce the discrimination condition against African-Americans in Guangzhou on 13 April. In that warning, it said that Chinese officials might require Africans to participate in the COVID-19 test and undergo a 14-day supervised quarantine at their own expense.[34]

Ambassadors in China from many African countries wrote to Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China, Wang Yi, for asking China to resolve the discrimination problem against Africans in Guangzhou.[35] The chair of African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, also summoned Chinese Ambassador to the AU, Liu Yuxi, to express his extreme concern.[28]

On 12 April, Zhao Lijian, the spokesperson of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, said that:[36]

During our fight against the coronavirus, the Chinese government has been attaching great importance to the life and health of foreign nationals in China. All foreigners are treated equally. We reject differential treatment, and we have zero tolerance for discrimination. Since the outbreak, the authorities in Guangdong attach high importance to the treatment of foreign patients, including African nationals. Specific plans and proper arrangements are made to protect their life and health to the best of our ability, thanks to which we were able to save the lives of some African patients in severe or critical conditions.

He also said in the regular press conference on 13 April that China will address the "African friends’ concerns" by adopting a series of measures to avoid racist and discrimination problems, and condemned "the US had better focus on domestic efforts to contain the spread of the virus. Attempts to use the pandemic to drive a wedge between China and Africa are bound to fail".[37]

Immigration issues

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Further information: Immigration to China § Africans in Guangzhou, and Illegal immigration to China § Guangzhou

Some Africans have applied for permanent residency or work permits, but they are the minority. Many are traders on tourist visas engaged in import-export between China and Africa.[2]

According to Reuters in 2009, there were as many as 100,000 Africans and Arabs in Guangzhou, mostly illegal visa overstayers.[38] Some Africans say that overstaying in China is inevitable because it is impossible to finish the business they had come for within a 30-day time frame and they cannot afford a plane ticket home.[2] Sociologists Gordon Mathews, Linessa Dan Lin, Yang Yang noted in a study of the local African community that Nigerians, particularly Igbos, are much more likely than other African groups to stay illegally due to "masculine pride".[24] Based on field interviews, Igbos report being under greater pressure from family and peers to become a success to justify a trip to China.[24]

Since 2004 at the latest, illegal immigration has increasingly come into the focus of the police authorities in Guangzhou and later throughout the country. In 2003, campaigns against illegal immigration were conducted in Guangdong and other Chinese provinces, and around 2008, the police repeatedly conducted so-called "hurricane" campaigns against illegal immigration in Guangdong.[39]: 155–160  In Guangzhou, a regulation has been in force since 2004 under which citizens are requested to report cases suspected of illegal immigration to the police, which can be rewarded with CN¥100.[39]: 73–74 

Intermarriage

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By 2014, there had been multiple marriages between African and Chinese people in Guangzhou, with almost all marriages being between African men and Chinese women. Chinese marriage visas do not legally allow the spouse to work. Many marriages have stability issues due to the difficulties in keeping visas.[18] The majority of the Chinese who live and marry Africans in Guangzhou, for example, come from the rural poorer provinces Sichuan, Hunan, Hubei. From 2010–2014, rural Chinese who married Africans and foreigners were allowed to have multiple children, unlike average Chinese citizens.[40][41]

Foreign exchange difficulties

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In addition to immigration enforcement, another difficulty to navigate for African traders has been the depreciation of several African currencies after the fall in oil prices since 2014.[42] Nigerian traders who are a large part of the African contingent reported being stymied by the difficulty of obtaining foreign currency in Nigeria needed to purchase goods.[6] The Nigerian government had initially reacted to the sharp depreciation in the Nigerian naira by limiting access to foreign exchange and refusing to devalue the official exchange rate.[42] In order to obtain naira, Nigerian traders had to resort to the black market to buy dollars at a 75% premium, making it difficult to turn a profit.[6][42] The foreign exchange problem proved so discouraging that one long time Nigerian clothing trader in Guangzhou interviewed by the Financial Times reported being unable to fill a single container halfway into the year in 2016.[42] Difficulties were reported by traders with foreign exchange in other African countries including Angola, another top oil producer.[6]

Crime

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Crime involving African nationals in Guangzhou has been a subject of concern among both African and Chinese.

In August 2013, the Guangzhou Public Security Bureau carried out a major anti-drug operation involving 1,300 police officers who raided the Lihua (Dragon) Hotel in the city's Yuexiu District, a known center of activity for African migrants. The raid coincided with a broader immigration enforcement crackdown that summer and resulted in the arrest of 168 suspects, most of whom were described by police as citizens of Nigeria and Mali.[43]

Following the raid, the Nigerian Ambassador to China at the time, Sola Onadipe, issued a highly critical public rebuke of his compatriots. In an interview with Vanguard, he lamented the scale of involvement by Nigerians in illegal activities in China. He added that some Nigerians in China smoked marijuana openly and drank heavily, calling such behavior "ridiculous" and expressing personal frustration at representing them diplomatically.[44] The ambassador also drew a pointed contrast with other African nationals, stating that citizens of Ghana, Cameroon, and Côte d’Ivoire did not face the same level of scrutiny from Chinese police, suggesting that Nigerians' conduct may have invited disproportionate enforcement.[44] This unusually harsh rhetoric from a sitting ambassador prompted scholarly commentary. Political scientist Steven F. Jackson interpreted the tirade as not just an expression of diplomatic frustration but possibly a reflection of deeper ethnic and class tensions within Nigeria. He noted that many Nigerians in Guangzhou are of Igbo origin from southeastern Nigeria, while Ambassador Onadipe is likely Yoruba, from the southwest. Jackson observed that "ambassadors are usually diplomatic and even-handed in their advocacy for their own citizens," but Onadipe’s statements may have revealed latent divisions within the Nigerian state itself.[45]

In 2017, a Nigerian consulate official in Guangzhou estimated that on average, 1% of Nigerians arriving in the city were arrested for drug-related offenses.[46]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Governing Strangers: African Communities in Guangzhou". The China Story. Australian Centre on China in the World. 2024. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
  2. ^ a b c d e Schiller, Bill (2009-08-01). "Big trouble in China's Chocolate City". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2010-08-24. Retrieved 2010-05-15.
  3. ^ a b c "Going east: African migrants head for China". This is Africa. February 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2014-02-07.
  4. ^ a b c "The African migrants giving up on the Chinese dream". CNN. September 26, 2016. Archived from the original on February 7, 2017. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
  5. ^ "African migrants leaving Guangzhou's Little Africa". Channel NewsAsia. December 19, 2016. Archived from the original on February 7, 2017. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Guangzhou to Nigera - Forex Issues". NTAnews24. September 4, 2016.
  7. ^ a b Zhuang, Pinghui (November 1, 2014). "Guangzhou clarifies size of African community amid fears over Ebola virus". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on November 4, 2014. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
  8. ^ a b "在广州居住外国人达11.8万 日本人最多韩国居次". Yangcheng Evening News. Archived from the original on 2015-02-03. Retrieved 2015-02-08.
  9. ^ "The truth about Chinese migrants in Africa and their self-segregation". AP Migration. Archived from the original on 2022-09-27. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
  10. ^ Adams Bodomo, Africans in China: A Sociocultural Study and Its Implications on Africa–China Relations (Cambria Press, 2012).
  11. ^ Roberto Castillo, African Transnational Mobility in China: Africans on the Move (Routledge, 2021).
  12. ^ He, Huifeng (7 May 2018). "After the boom: fortunes turn for China's 'Little Africa' as African entrepreneurs leave Guangzhou". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  13. ^ Public Security Bureau of Guangzhou, press conference, April 2020, reported by National Business Daily, https://www.nbd.com.cn/articles/2020-04-12/1424738.html.
  14. ^ Roberto Castillo, "African Transnational Mobility in Post-COVID-19 Guangzhou," An Interdisciplinary Journal 9, no. 1 (2024): 64–67, https://doi.org/10.24819/netsol2024.7.
  15. ^ a b "How many Africans are there in Guangzhou". November 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-11-04. Retrieved 2014-12-09.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h Mathews, Gordon; Dan Lin, Linessa; Yang, Yang (2017). The World in Guangzhou. University of Chicago Press. pp. 23–24.
  17. ^ Zhen Jinghui (2009-09-11). "非洲黑人在广州 Black People in Guangzhou". Nanfengchuang. Archived from the original on 2012-04-30. Retrieved 2011-09-06.
  18. ^ a b Marsh, Jenni (2014-07-02). "Afro-Chinese marriages boom in Guangzhou: but will it be 'til death do us part'?". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 2020-02-15. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
  19. ^ Pan, Xiaobo (2008-01-23). "Chocolate City - Africans searching for the Chinese Dream". Southern Weekly. Archived from the original on 2019-03-01. Retrieved 2011-09-08.
  20. ^ a b "Africans protest in Guangzhou after passport checks". China Daily. July 16, 2009. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved February 9, 2014.
  21. ^ a b "Strike Hard Against Immigration: China's New Exit-Entry Law". China Brief. November 22, 2013. Archived from the original on February 1, 2018. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  22. ^ "Africans Protest in Guangzhou (Video)". Toronto Star. 2009-07-30. Archived from the original on 2012-10-25. Retrieved 2017-08-23.
  23. ^ a b "Protest in China over Guangzhou death in custody". BBC News. 20 June 2012. Archived from the original on 14 September 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  24. ^ a b c Mathews, Gordon; Lin, Linessa Dan; Yang, Yang (2017). The World in Guangzhou. University of Chicago Press. p. 118.
  25. ^ Hall, Brian J; Chen, Wen; Latkin, Carl; Ling, Li; Tucker, Joseph D (April 2014). "Africans in south China face social and health barriers". The Lancet. 383 (9925): 1291–1292. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(14)60637-1. PMC 4214379. PMID 24725568.
  26. ^ "'Not Allowed To Receive African Guests': Discrimination At Guangzhou Hotels". supchina. August 8, 2018. Archived from the original on August 9, 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  27. ^ a b c d "China cracks down on Ugandans, Nigerians". Daily Monitor. July 29, 2018. Archived from the original on August 9, 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  28. ^ a b "African Nations, US Decry Racism Against Blacks in China". The New York Times. The Associated Press. 2020-04-11. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2020-04-13. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  29. ^ Davidson, Helen (2020-04-13). "Chinese official: claims of racial targeting are 'reasonable concerns'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2020-04-23. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  30. ^ Li, Hangwei (22 April 2020). "The mistreatment of Africans in Guangzhou is a big threat to China's coronavirus diplomacy". Quartz. Archived from the original on 2020-04-22. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  31. ^ Brown, Matthew. "Fact check: Black people being targeted in Guangzhou, China, over COVID-19 fears". USA TODAY. Archived from the original on 2020-04-23. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  32. ^ a b Jenni Marsh; Shawn Deng; Nectar Gan (10 April 2020). "Africans in Guangzhou on edge as coronavirus fears spark anti-foreigner sentiment in China". CNN. Archived from the original on 2020-04-13. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  33. ^ "US warns African-Americans to avoid Guangzhou due to discrimination fears". South China Morning Post. 2020-04-11. Archived from the original on 2020-04-13. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  34. ^ "Health Alert: U.S. Consulate General Guangzhou, People's Republic of China". U.S. Embassy & Consulates in China. 2020-04-13. Archived from the original on 2020-04-15. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  35. ^ "African ambassadors complain to China over 'discrimination' in Guangzhou". Reuters. 2020-04-12. Archived from the original on 2020-04-23. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  36. ^ "Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian's Remarks on Guangdong's Anti-epidemic Measures Concerning African Citizens in China". Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China. 12 April 2020. Archived from the original on 16 April 2020.
  37. ^ "Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian's Regular Press Conference on April 13, 2020". Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China. 13 April 2020. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020.
  38. ^ Pomfret, James (21 August 2009). "Out of Africa and into China, immigrants struggle". Reuters. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  39. ^ a b Habicht, Jasper (2020). The Role of Campaigns in Law Enforcement: The Example of Sanfei Campaigns in Chinese Immigration Law. Studies on the Law and Legal Culture of China. Vol. 9. Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft. pp. 155–160. doi:10.5771/9783748907817. ISBN 978-3-7489-0781-7. S2CID 218955976.
  40. ^ Admin (2014-06-03). "Bride and prejudice: Afro-Chinese marriages in Guangzhou". Africa-China Reporting Project. Archived from the original on 2020-02-15. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
  41. ^ "China cracks down on African immigrants and traders". the Guardian. 2010-10-06. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
  42. ^ a b c d "Commodity dip hits China's little Africa". Financial Times. July 4, 2016. Archived from the original on August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
  43. ^ "Guangzhou police smash West African-led drugs ring". Dongguan Today. 2013-08-15. Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2014-02-09.
  44. ^ a b "Nigerians' notoriety in China is unprecedented - Ambassador Onadipe". The Vanguard. February 16, 2014. Archived from the original on August 11, 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  45. ^ Steven F. Jackson, "Two Distant Giants: China and Nigeria Perceive Each Other," European, Middle Eastern, & African Affairs, Winter 2019, pp. 60–62. [1]
  46. ^ "535 Nigerians languish in Chinese prisons for drug trafficking". The Point. May 1, 2017. Archived from the original on August 9, 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2018.

Further reading

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Library resources about
Africans in Guangzhou
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