Riding on the waves of transformation in the Asia-Pacific: Chinese migration to Australia since the late 1980s

Abstract

Australia’s ethnic Chinese population has increased from around 200,000 in the mid-1980s to about 1.2 million according to Australia’s 2016 census. Their settlement has contributed to the fact that China has become Australia’s largest trading partner and that Australia has been recession-free for almost 30 years. At the same time, this rapidly growing population has also become hyperdiverse, well-educated, hyperconnective, highly transnational, and hypermobile. However, over the past three or so years, Australia has been embroiled in a campaign against alleged Chinese influence in Australian politics and public life, and the Chinese-invasion narrative has not only been reinvented, but also been sanctioned by some political leaders and xenophobic critics. Before waiting until the history of Chinese migration to Australia is reconstructed and rewritten, there is an urgent need to look at what has caused new waves of Chinese migration to Australia, and offer an update about it at the intersection of two major socio-economic transformations taking place in the Asia-Pacific, which are China’s reform and opening-up and Australia’s shift towards Asia. Through examining their interplays, this article is to address misconceptions in Australia’s current debate over Chinese influence.

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