China vows to open immigration ‘at stable pace’, more policies to lure foreign talent
- Immigration officials also told to combat infiltration and disruption by ‘hostile forces’ and illegal cross-border activities
- A year after the borders reopened, Beijing is trying to encourage foreign businesspeople, students and tourists to return
China’s immigration agency has pledged to further open up the country “at a stable pace” while calling for more efforts to fend off what it called infiltration by “hostile forces”.
“[We must] open up the immigration services system at a stable pace, comprehensively implement more positive and effective policies to attract, keep and gather overseas talent,” officials were told at an annual meeting of the National Immigration Administration in Beijing.
There was also a call for more international cooperation on managing immigration, according to a statement on the agency’s website on Tuesday.
In addition, immigration officials were told to combat infiltration and disruption by “hostile forces”, as well as illegal cross-border activities, to “fully safeguard the nation’s political security, border stability and management of immigration”.
Cadres at Monday’s meeting were told they needed a “profound understanding” of China’s current and future circumstances, the statement said without elaborating.
But China’s rivalry with the West and a national security drive – that has seen anti-espionage and state secrets legislation tightened and raids of foreign consulting firms – has had a chilling effect.
