Chinese travelers are also becoming important players in the global shopping market. (Photo : www.jingdaily.com)
Europe is becoming an attractive destination for a growing number of migrating Chinese who seek better opportunities in education and business as well as cleaner air, the China Daily reported.
Li Huitong, a deputy general manager of a company in Shijiazhuang and a father of two, is planning to leave his homeland for Hungary, an Eastern European nation.
"I worry about my children's education, food quality and the air pollution in China," says Li. "Europe is rich in cultural heritage and the cost of living is low."
According to the report, Li is one of the more than nine million Chinese nationals who have left China to live in various countries around the world.
The Center for China and Globalization reported in March that air pollution has become a factor why some Chinese decide to migrate. Shijiazhuang, the city where Li lives, was ranked as the third most polluted city in China.
The report also cited other reasons for leaving such as education and investment.
On April 23, Thierry Mariani, a French politician from the Union for a Popular Movement, presented a paper on Chinese immigration to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe's Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons. Mariani said that the increase of the Chinese population in Europe offered opportunities and challenges, and that the influx of Chinese immigrants should be viewed in the context of "the potential for economic growth" that they represent.
The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs placed the number of Chinese people living in Europe at about a million, but the Council of Europe included Russia in its calculations and pegged the number at 2.8 million. This does not, however, take into account the student population and the number of undocumented Chinese immigrants.
The report said that Europe may not be the most popular destination for Chinese, but it provides an attractive offer to them.
Not to be confused with the European Union, the Schengen Area, comprised of 26 European countries, allows freedom of movement for people within the area for up to 90 days in a 180-day period using one visa. But this does not give them permanent residency or citizenship.
Par Liljert, head of the International Organization for Migration's office in Beijing, said that 13,200 Chinese were granted various nationalities by EU member states. The Chinese ranked 12th among foreign nationals granted citizenship in Europe. China was also the largest source country of immigrants to the United Kingdom in 2012 and 2013.
Liljert said that the number of Chinese immigrants in Germany increased in 2013.
"With the Chinese authorities having loosened restrictions on movement, and the EU's simplified visa application procedures for Chinese applicants, China has become the third-largest tourist origin country for the EU Schengen Area--1.5 billion visa applications from China in 2013," Liljert said.
"The number of Chinese students in EU countries is generally increasing, particularly in the U.K., Finland, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden. China has become the largest source country of overseas students in Britain and Germany."
A 2013 report from the Europe China Research Advice Network said that the U.K., France, Italy and Spain host nearly three-fourths of all Chinese immigrants in Europe.
Other European countries, including Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria and Portugal, have also attracted more Chinese immigrants in recent years, offering residency and investment programs.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said that 18 percent of work authorizations in Romania in 2011 were issued to Chinese, and the Chinese are the third-largest group receiving work permits in Lithuania.
