How the rise of China’s middle class migrants is challenging Australian fears
- China’s new middle class has spawned a new breed of wealthier, better educated migrant, drawn to Australia for the lifestyle as much as the work
- This shift in migration is challenging Australia to reassess fears about the rising superpower in its neighbourhood
The stifling pollution of Guangzhou, where Wen was born, had played havoc with his asthma – so with visions of clear blue skies and wide open spaces, his mother upped sticks and moved him to Melbourne when he was just 7 years old.
“The air in Guangzhou was really bad due to industrialisation and the moving of factories from Hong Kong after the opening up of China,” he recalls. “I remember being told we couldn’t drink the rain water because it was polluted and highly acidic.”
Now 22 and studying economics and international relations at the Australian National University in Canberra, Wen has never doubted his mother’s decision.
Similarly pleased with her new environment is Claire Yu, 26. For Yu, it was visions of a simple lifestyle and a work-life balance that in 2014 prompted her to leave Harbin for Adelaide, the wine capital of Australia thanks to its cool climate, altitude and changing seasons. Yu earned a Master’s degree in wine business at the University of Adelaide, which qualified her for a state-nominated skilled-migrant visa.
Her fellow Adelaide resident, Max Chi, 32, took a different route – his expertise in telecoms engineering meant he could obtain permanent residency and relocate his family from Beijing in just six months.