China's International Migration Policy

Abstract

Labor export and the introduction of foreign experts have played an important role in China since it launched reform and open door policy in 1978. The article discusses China's economic environment since then, the policies and mechanisms attendant to labor export and the introduction of experts, and presents data on international migration. Labor export is subsumed under the larger framework of economic growth. Thus, exporting labor is supplementary to the introduction of new technologies, infrastructure development, and improving the management of enterprises. To facilitate the introduction of new technologies and to improve the management of enterprises, the Chinese government encourages foreign experts to work in China. The government is against irregular migration and seeks to avoid brain drain.