Abstract
Most Chinese in today’s Spain are first-generation immigrants; almost all emigrated from China after the late 1970s, when China reopened its door to the West. In about three decades between the mid-1980s and the mid-2010s, the number of Chinese migrants in Spain has grown more than 100-fold. This chapter traces the migration process of Chinese to Spain, describes their sociodemographic characteristics, and analyzes their economic activities and the social challenges they face. In particular, it addresses the following questions: Why did hundreds of thousands of Chinese choose Spain, not a traditional country of Chinese immigration? How did they migrate? And what are their adaptation strategies to cope with life there?
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- 1.
I should like to thank Ma Zhuomin, a Chinese amateur historian in Barcelona , for providing me with his unpublished manuscript, “A Brief History of Chinese in Spain” (in Chinese), and letting me quote from it.
- 2.
It is said that quite a number of these students went to the USA after spending some time in Spain, but direct written records need to be identified.
- 3.
The statistics are from the Overseas Chinese Economic Yearbook, published by the Overseas Chinese Economic Yearbook Compiling Committee, Taiwan.
- 4.
The relevant statistics were compiled by the author from Antolin (1998); Ouzhou shibao (Chinese newspaper published in Paris), August 4, 2000; Puhua bao (Chinese newspaper published in Lisbon), January 2, 2007.
- 5.
Thanks to Mr. Xu, honorary chairman of the Association of Chinese in Spain, for providing me with the report.
- 6.
Arup Banerji and economist Mukesh Chawla of the World Bank predicted in July 2007 that half of Spain’s population will be older than 55 by 2050, giving Spain the highest median age of any nation in the world (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ageing_of_Europe#Spain).
- 7.
Yu Xibanya zishen jizhe tan Huayi yangnv beisha an [《与西班牙资深庭审记者谈华裔养女被杀案》Talk with a Spanish journalist about the murder of an adopted Chinese girl] Ouhua Bao November 6, 2015 (http://chinatown.ouhua.info/news/2015/11/06/2083183.html). Recheck on 14 August 2016.
- 8.
Report provided by Mr. Xu Songhua, honorary chairman of the Association of Chinese in Spain.
- 9.
Fieldwork notes in November 2014; consulted with Mr. Ma Zhuomin, a Chinese amateur historian in Barcelona.
- 10.
When I did my fieldwork in Spain in November 2014, I was frequently welcomed by the owners of Chinese shops. They often ordered coffee or soft drinks for me from a nearby Chinese Café by phone.
- 11.
Zhongguo Xinwen (China News) (June 11, 2006) Shinian chuangchu yipian tian [《十年闯出一片天》 Set up successful business in ten years], (http://www.chinanews.com/news/2006/2006-06-11/8/742345.shtml), accessed on July 30, 2016.
- 12.
“Spain Raids Chinese Mob, Arrests 80”, South China Morning Post, October 17, 2012. http://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1062995/spain-raids-chinese-mob-arrests-80, accessed on May 4, 2016.
- 13.
When Spain entered the Eurozone in 1999, the exchange rate was 168 Pesetas to EUR1.
- 14.
News published by GQB website (国务院侨务办公室网站新闻) (August 29, 2013)Xibanya Madrid Huaren laoban guowan, zhan Huaren banshu [西班牙马德里华人老板过万,占华人总数过半More than 10,000 Chinese in Madrid are bosses, formed nearly half of the Chinese community] (http://www.gqb.gov.cn/news/2013/0829/30916.shtml), accessed on July 30, 2016.
- 15.
Zhongguo Xinwen (China News) (September 22, 2015) Xibanya guoban Huaren zuo laoban, jingji weiji hou zizhu chuangye zeng 109% [《西班牙过半华人做老板 经济危机后自主创业增109%, More than half of the Chinese immigrants in Spain are bosses. The number of Chinese who have set up their own businesses has doubled since the economic crisis] (http://www.chinanews.com/hr/2015/09-22/7537193.shtml), accessed on July 30, 2016.
- 16.
Ou Hua Wang (www.ouhua.info) (November 16, 2013) Lv Xi Huaren: Cong yimin dao tozizhe [《旅西华人:从移民到投资者》 Chinese in Spain: From immigrants to investors] (http://chinatown.ouhua.info/news/2013/11/16/1957714.html). Recheck on 14 August 2016.
- 17.
News published by GQB website (国务院侨务办公室网站新闻)(August 29, 2013)Xibanya Madeli Huaren laoban guownag, zhan Huaren zongshu guo ban [《西班牙马德里华人老板过万,占华人总数过半》. More than 10,000 Chinese in Madrid are bosses, forming nearly half of the Chinese community] (http://www.gqb.gov.cn/news/2013/0829/30916.shtml). Recheck on August 14, 2016.
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Li, M. (2017). New Chinese Immigrants in Spain: The Migration Process, Demographic Characteristics and Adaptation Strategies. In: Zhou, M. (eds) Contemporary Chinese Diasporas. Palgrave, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5595-9_13
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5595-9_13
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