The Chinese Skilled Migrants To Australia Since The 1990s

After World War II, the third technological revolution took place, leading to the rise of high-tech industries in developed countries. To address the problem of lacking technical staff, many developed countries have introduced new migration policies focusing on skilled migrants.The establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Australia in 1972 and the inception of China’s reform and opening-up policy in 1978 jointly contributed to the increasingly frequent economic and cultural exchanges between the two countries. Australia has absorbed a large number of skilled migrants from China since then.Focusing on illustrating the settlement of Chinese skilled migrants in Australia, this dissertation describes the types and evolution process of Australian skilled migration, to be followed by the examination on the reasons behind the Chinese skilled migrants moving to Australia. Not only the effect of economic globalization and the unique attraction of Australia have a huge influence on Chinese skilled migrants in choosing Australia as their destination country but also some domestic problems in China in its development process contribute to the preference of the Chinese migrants.This study reviews the settlement structure of Chinese skilled migrants, including their geographic distributions, education levels, ages, family structures and the language they use. A preliminary summary on the positive influences that Chinese skilled migrants exert on the development of Australia is drawn. Finally, concerning the serious situation of brain drain in China, this thesis makes a number of recommendations and proposals for attracting more Chinese talents to stay and work in China.