АФРИКАНОФОБИЯ В КНР И СИНОФОБИЯ В АФРИКЕ ВО ВРЕМЯ ПАНДЕМИИ COVID-19 КАК СЛЕДСТВИЕ ПРОБЛЕМЫ АДАПТАЦИИ В ПРИНИМАЮЩИХ СООБЩЕСТВАХ

Abstract

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, a wave of xenophobia has risen around the world. Many countries around the world have begun to use the pandemic to promote all sorts of anti-immigrant sentiments by demonizing migrants. In the international media, there were reports of cases of infringement of the rights and attacks on immigrants from Asia, accused of spreading the coronavirus infection. In Russia, at the very beginning of the pandemic, there was discrimination against Chinese citizens. In African countries, anti-Chinese sentiments were widespread in countries long before the pandemic, and this is due to the dissatisfaction of local residents with the intensification of Chinese economic and political activity on the continent. Many African politicians use xenophobia as a way to fight for power. In China, during the pandemic, anti-immigrant sentiments intensified and they did not bypass African citizens. The PRC is trying with all its might to increase investment in its economy. This is what determined the main course of the PRC’s migration policy — attracting overseas Chinese and foreign specialists, who do not include African migrants. Therefore, Afrikanophobia in China is explained by the difficulty of integration and the presence of a large number of Africans who illegally live and work in China. The local community is dissatisfied with the unauthorized activities of African migrants. During the pandemic, the situation escalated and the Chinese authorities began to accuse Africans living in China of discrimination. However, under the People’s Republic of China Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Law of 2013, all foreigners were subject to control during the epidemic.