The iom in building and supporting migration management in china

Abstract

In 2016, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) became the IOM’s (International Organization for Migration) 165th member state. Triggered by its process of ‘opening up’, strong economic growth and increasing political influence, China has embarked on a dynamic and ambitious path of policy development in the area of migration. Many new policies have been introduced to encourage and facilitate private travel and business visits, as well as the immigration and even long-term, permanent presence of foreign professionals. This chapter explores the IOM’s growing collaboration with China. It contributes to the growing, yet still largely Eurocentric, scholarship on the role of the IOM and other international organisations in migration management. While the collaboration between the IOM and China has not yet reached the level of collaboration the IOM has been able to achieve with European Union (EU) countries, the IOM and partnership with the IOM will likely hold more significance for China in the coming years. China is on the brink of becoming an important player in global migration management due to the growth of its political influence at both the global and transnational policy level through the ‘Belt and Road’ Initiative (BRI), which is likely to trigger new flows of mobility and migration between BRI countries and China.