Economic Development through Migration: Facilitating Skilled Migration to China through the Belt and Road Initiative

Abstract Strengthening people-to-people ties is part of the Belt and Road Initiative’s (BRI) cooperation priorities and is to be realized, among others, through student and academic exchanges, research cooperation, joint vocational training, and tourism. Through national legislation and efforts in bilateral and multilateral cooperation on student, academic, and personnel mobility, China occupies a key role in shaping the way migration develops along the BRI. The findings suggest that new skilled migration legislation in China, geared towards foreigners with tertiary education, paired with BRI cooperation efforts and visa facilitation, is opening comparatively more opportunities for skilled nationals of BRI countries. BRI nationals are more often exempt from visas and have access to targeted talent attraction and retention programs. Nevertheless, up to now, these efforts have been mainly undertaken by the Chinese government, and skilled BRI nationals are not being encouraged to migrate to China under the bilateral employment agreements.