Editor’s note: The following article was translated from a posting by popular blog writer Qiu Lin (邱 林). In the article, Qiu effectively illustrates both sides of the situation, explaining both why so many of China’s wealthy are moving abroad, as well as why this isn’t necessarily fair to the rest of the country’s population.

"Half of China's richest want to emigrate." That was the conclusion reached in the 2012 Annual Report on Chinese International Migration, published by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences last December. According to the report, 27% of wealthy Chinese (defined as worth more than 100 million RMB) have already emigrated, and 47% are actively considering it. The second most common factor (43%) for emigrating cited by wealthy Chinese, was to protect their private assets. However, even though this report seems to favor “globalization” as the main factor stimulating emigration, many netizens have a different opinion: China's wealthy and social elite are blatantly unpatriotic, choosing to abandon their country.

China’s rich flocking to Western countries

China's 30-plus years of economic prosperity have helped many Chinese accumulate vast fortunes that were once unimaginable. According to relevant data, despite the deep economic recession that has affected most of the world, between 2010 and 2011 the number of Chinese worth more than one billion USD actually increased more than threefold, from 82 to 271. Moreover, there are currently 960,000 Chinese worth more than 10 million RMB, an increase of 9.7% from 2010. China's wealthy elite have become the main driving force in a new round of emigration, with the number of middle-class Chinese choosing to emigrate increasing in recent years as well. In 2011, more than 150,000 Chinese were granted permanent residency in other countries. With its 87,017 Chinese currently holding permanent residency status, the United States is by far the most popular destination, followed by Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Of all the Western countries, the United States attracts the largest number of immigrants from around the world. To draw in other countries wealthy and social elite, the U.S. government has greatly reduced its immigration threshold. First, the threshold to apply for an EB-5 visa (part of the U.S. Immigrant Investor Program) was reduced from one million USD to 500,000 USD. Moreover, the only prerequisite to qualify for this program is that the person’s personal assets were "legally obtained". Second, in 2011, U.S. Senators John Kerry and Richard Lugar introduced the "Startup Visa Act" as an amendment to the U.S. immigration law to create a visa category for foreign entrepreneurs who have raised capital from qualified American investors. According to the act, if a U.S. investor agrees to financially sponsor the foreign entrepreneur’s venture with a minimum investment of 100,000 USD, and the startup creates five new American jobs and also raises over $500,000 in financing or generates more than $500,000 in yearly revenue within two years time, then the foreign entrepreneur will be given a U.S. green card (this bill is expected to pass soon). With such appealing policy changes, it's no wonder that China's wealthy and social elite have started coming over in record numbers. In 2011, the United States approved more than 4,200 immigrants worldwide, among which 70% were from Mainland China.

Why leave while China's economy is still growing?

Why, during a period of rapid economic development in China, are so many wealthy Chinese opting to emigrate? Analysts note that the two main reasons are “better education for their children” and “to find a sense of security”. This second reason causes one to reflect on China's current social environment. First, there’s the domestic investment environment, where rule of law and standardization are still lacking, and many investment channels still restrict private capital. Second, there’s the ever-widening rich-poor gap, which (aside from the bevy of other problems affecting the rest of the country) has increased resentment and hostility against the wealthy.

In reality, the wave of wealthy Chinese emigrants is likely a reflection of more deep-seated issues that exist in China's current social development process. For things such as development environment, investment security, competition fairness, protection of private property and access to high-quality public services, those with the means to emigrate will tend to have higher expectations and move to where those expectations are met. And of course, the emigration of the wealthy class is an inevitable result of the social polarization between the haves and have-nots. But for a developing country like China, the departure of these people, especially those who possess specialized expertise and entrepreneurial ideals, is causing incalculable economic losses. Some even worry that due to the outflow of capital (the money the rich are taking with them), the forces of the global economic recession will eventually catch up to China and that its economy "is on the brink of collapse".

Although there may be little agreement on some of the above points, one thing that cannot be ignored is that China's wealthy have greatly benefited from the country's economic reforms and now they're taking their wealth and leaving, effectively abandoning their homeland. The wealth they leave with is gone for good. It will likely not come back to China, instead benefiting some other country. All that is left in China is 30 years worth of pollution and other troubles.

Source: blog.ifeng.com

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Keywords: rich leaving China China’s wealthy emigrating to U.S.