Chinese Student Migration and Community-Building: An Exploration of New Diasporic Formation in England

Abstract

The unprecedented growth of Chinese international students since the twenty-first century raises questions about the links to and impact on local communities in host countries. Viewing Chinese students as a special segment of the Chinese diaspora, this chapter sheds a new light on Chinese students’ social networking for their interconnections and interactions with different groups, both Chinese and non-Chinese, on campus or in the wider community. Many questions arise here: What is the contribution of Chinese students to the growth and transformation of diaspora Chinese communities in major destinations? What is the scope of their social networking and functions for Chinese community cohesion and integration? What are the differences between Chinese students and local residents, and between Chinese students from mainland China and those from Hong Kong and Singapore in terms of network building and local engagement? The above questions are addressed by a combination of official data analysis and a questionnaire survey conducted in Nottingham, England.