Many foreigners are leaving China—and, according to online search trends, China’s young and educated elite are thinking about doing the same
Save time by listening to our audio articles as you multitaskMost of Shanghai’s 25m residents have been locked in their homes for more than a month in order to stem an outbreak of covid-19 in the city. Case numbers are dropping there, but rising in Beijing, the capital, which is doing mass testing and imposing targeted lockdowns. Business leaders worry about the economic impact of China’s covid controls.
“It’s like an alarm bell has gone off,” says Miranda Wang, a young Chinese video-producer who moved to Shanghai after studying in Britain. The Chinese metropolis used to feel like a global city, similar to London, she says. But after more than 50 days of lockdown, Ms Wang has begun researching ways to leave. “Now we realise, Shanghai is still China’s Shanghai,” she says. “No matter how much money, education or international access you have, you cannot escape the authorities.
But to run is easier said than done. Flights out of China are few and expensive. America has tightened visa restrictions on Chinese students over exaggerated fears of spying. In the name of pandemic prevention, China is also making it harder for citizens to move around. Since 2020 the National Immigration Administration has stopped issuing travel documents for “non-essential reasons”.