Success Stories of Africans in China

Exceptions to the Rule of suffering for African Migrant workers

Sep 22, 2009

Despite the difficulties Africans face in China, a few have made significant breakthroughs in transforming their lives and becoming glowing success stories

While the picture is often painted of the difficulties Africans face in China, it is also true that there is a very lucky minority who can boast of outstanding successes. This success is often due to many factors, among them being luck, hard work, perseverance, connections and part of China in which one finds himself whether Afro-friendly or Afro-phobic. The ability to make use of these factors is a determinant of success for African migrants in China.

To single out a group of African migrants as successful depends on how success is defined. It is therefore only through a comparative analysis that one can arrive at a convincing definition of success. How are these migrants different from their peers back home? What are the differences between and among the migrants themselves? What are the opportunities available to these migrants and how easy is it for them to grasp these opportunities?

Success Cases in the Chinese Business Community

The business community, teachers and students are the most prominent group of African migrants in China because they face the task of surviving on their own. Those in diplomatic and related services already have a defined status and hold regular jobs and therefore do not face the daily struggles like ordinary migrants fleeing from plaguing poverty at home.

For a handful of those in the business community, things have been pretty smooth until the recent change of attitude towards Africans in China. This business community has taken advantage of extremely low prices in China to make huge profits from goods they sell back home. The group has also been part of China’s ballooning trade with Africa supplying the African market with cheap Chinese goods from dresses through cell phones to household appliances and machines of all kinds.

One distinguishing feature of African migrants in China is their ability to manifest what economists call geographical and occupational mobility of labor. This has become part of their survival instinct. While professional African traders in China’s economic hubs like Shenzhen and Guangzhou make regular business trips home, their peers in other fields especially teachers take advantage of China’s countless holidays to buy goods which they also sell at home. This ensures a double source of income.

African Teachers: The Foreign Experts

In China, all foreign workers holding a work visa (Z visa) are referred to as “foreign experts.” Within the African community in China, however, the word used with a slightly insultive tone. The word is commonly used by illegal immigrants on their counterparts holding regular jobs and therefore having a legal status. By every standard therefore, African teachers are regarded as success cases by their peers especially as a “Z” visa is the most treasured document for migrants in China.

For an African migrant to hold a job with a “good salary” in China is extreme luck and to keep it is a blessing. The salary range for foreign teachers in China is from $US500 to $US800 depending on the city or province. In some cities it is higher and in others it is lower.

Those Africans who fall into the high income category are glaring success stories. They live in modern homes with running water, electricity, internet access and proper sanitation. To these blessed few, China is a “paradise on earth” especially when they recall memories of home. The lucky ones take part time jobs raising their income levels even higher.

The African Student Community in China

The African student community in China is made up of two main groups. The first comprises students under government scholarships and exchange agreements between china and their home countries. The second consists of those who study in China under self sponsorship. Because of their ability to speak and write the Chinese language, they easily find teaching jobs on part time basis. After their studies, some also work in Chinese companies either in China or in Africa.

China serves as a launch pad for Africans seeking to reach the West either as students or legal migrants. A sizeable number have been able to save enough to finance their studies in Europe and America. Others have conveniently migrated to the US after winning the US diversity lottery. Immigration schemes in Canada, Britain and Australia continue to lure the rest.

China might be a difficult place for Africans, but there is a select few have been able to turn these hardships into golden opportunities. It should be stressed however that it is easy to do a finger count of these success stories. For a large majority, China presents challenges on a daily basis.

Adamu. “Africans In Guangzhou, Africans in Tokyo.” Mutant Frog Travelogue, March 26, 2009.

Chen, Carrot and Alen Davey. “Inside the African and Middle eastern Communities.” Lifeof Guangzhou.com. August 29, 2006.

Fowale, Tongkeh. “The Long Road to the East: African Immigrants in China.” American Chronicle, January 03, 2008.

The copyright of the article Success Stories of Africans in China in China Travel is owned by Tongkeh Joseph Fowale. Permission to republish Success Stories of Africans in China in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.