Thousands of Chinese citizens are illegally entering the United States via the San Diego-Mexico border, seeking asylum like the citizens of impoverished Central African and war-torn West Asian nations, and pulling out a Chinese reality into the free world away from its glittering coastal cities. Experts suggest that this may be a reflection of the dire straits faced by some sections of the Chinese economy.

Data from the US Customs and Border Protection shows that this year, until August 2023, a total of 20,273 Chinese migrant encounters occurred at the US-Mexico border, up from 2,176 a year earlier, a whopping increase of 831 per cent.&nbsp;<img alt="Border Patrol agents hand out trash bags to the arriving migrants from China to use against rain and cold wind as they wait for transport to a processing center next to a cemetery in Fronton, Texas, U.S." data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="14dc5204-c242-468c-871a-060bf8f2a407" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/WhatsApp%20Image%202023-10-03%20at%2013.07.32_0.jpeg" />

File photo of Border Patrol agents handing out trash bags to the arriving migrants from China to use against rain and cold wind as they wait for transport to a processing centre next to a cemetery in Fronton, Texas in April 2023&nbsp;| Reuters

The number is likely to increase even further after the end of 2023 when annual data on migrant encounters is released.&nbsp;

The extraordinary increase in the number of Chinese migrant encounters confirms two things that many China watchers have been saying for a long time.

"One, the glittering Chinese coastal cities or even the exceptional hinterland city like Chongqing are not a measure of the wealth of China," said Sridharan Subramanyam, a China Watcher at Chennai Centre for China Studies.

"The poverty in China's rural areas, due to various reasons, is real," he told WION.

This August, the city of Zhuozhou in China's Hebei province was devastated by the worst floods that hit northern China in living memory.

Less than 50 km from Beijing, thousands of homes were damaged in the wake of Typhoon Doksuri.

Several blog posts about the Zhouzhou floods, which accused the authorities of deliberately flooding certain Chinese towns to control the water levels in Beijing, were censored from the messaging platform WeChat.&nbsp;

"The attempt by government officials is to prevent the leakage of facts (on poverty as well), as we saw in the recent Beijing floods," Subramanyam added.&nbsp;

The second aspect, the expert said, is that China's economic situation in the last two years has been very dire.&nbsp;

<h2>Faltering economy&nbsp;behind rising illegal Chinese migration to the US?</h2>

To recover from the global economic consequences of the Covid pandemic, Chinese leader Xi Jinping introduced the 'dual circulation' policy to encourage domestic consumption after a fall in external demand for Chinese goods and services.&nbsp;

The policy has not paid off, Subramanyam pointed out.&nbsp;

"The Chinese do not have enough trust, at least in near terms, of their economy doing well and are saving even more than they already used to do so highly. The consumption rates as a result have been falling," he said.&nbsp;

<h2>What else is pushing China's poor into the US?</h2>

The draconian ‘zero-Covid’ policy, coupled with the trade war with the US and the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-china-chip-war-intensify-amid-calls-for-small-yard-high-fence-approach-to-contain-china-618392">latter’s ban on semiconductor technology</a>, are all adding to Xi Jinping's woes.&nbsp;

Moreover, Xi Jinping's flagship Belt and Road Initiative, a massive trade and infrastructure network that seeks to connect the country with the West in a model based on the ancient Silk Route, is "failing", Subramanyam said.

Also read |&nbsp;Gravitas: China's Xi Jinping snubbed as Italy dumps BRI

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An analysis of a dozen countries most indebted to China — including Pakistan, Kenya, Zambia, Laos and Mongolia — shows that paying back the debt "is consuming an ever-greater amount of the tax revenue…and draining foreign currency reserves", Associated Press reported.&nbsp;

Behind this, AP said, "is China’s reluctance to forgive debt and its extreme secrecy about how much money it has loaned and on what terms, which has kept other major lenders from stepping in to help."

"China has not only been unable to generate much return on (BRI) investments. It also is in danger of losing the capital in several countries in the last three years," Subramanyam added.

Meanwhile, the slow but relentless de-risking leading to the relocation of industries from China to other countries is continuing to expand distress in the world's second-largest economy, pushing thousands of blue-collar workers to look for greener pastures elsewhere in the world.

All these may be acting as the 'push factor' in the migration of Chinese to the US. It's an irony of history that, centuries ago, they were among the first Asians to migrate in search of better lives, escaping the poverty at home, which led to the ubiquitous China Towns in several US cities.

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Thousands of Chinese citizens are illegally entering the United States via the San Diego-Mexico border, seeking asylum like the citizens of impoverished Central African and war-torn West Asian nations, and pulling out a Chinese reality into the free world away from its glittering coastal cities.

Thousands of Chinese citizens are illegally entering the United States via the San Diego-Mexico border, seeking asylum like the citizens of impoverished Central African and war-torn West Asian nations, and pulling out a Chinese reality into the free world away from its glittering coastal cities. Experts suggest that this may be a reflection of the dire straits faced by some sections of the Chinese economy. Data from the US Customs and Border Protection shows that this year, until August 2023, a total of 20,273 Chinese migrant encounters occurred at the US-Mexico border, up from 2,176 a year earlier, a whopping increase of 831 per cent. File photo of Border Patrol agents handing out trash bags to the arriving migrants from China to use against rain and cold wind as they wait for transport to a processing centre next to a cemetery in Fronton, Texas in April 2023 | Reuters The number is likely to increase even further after the end of 2023 when annual data on migrant encounters is released. The extraordinary increase in the number of Chinese migrant encounters confirms two things that many China watchers have been saying for a long time. "One, the glittering Chinese coastal cities or even the exceptional hinterland city like Chongqing are not a measure of the wealth of China," said Sridharan Subramanyam, a China Watcher at Chennai Centre for China Studies. "The poverty in China's rural areas, due to various reasons, is real," he told WION. This August, the city of Zhuozhou in China's Hebei province was devastated by the worst floods that hit northern China in living memory. Less than 50 km from Beijing, thousands of homes were damaged in the wake of Typhoon Doksuri. Several blog posts about the Zhouzhou floods, which accused the authorities of deliberately flooding certain Chinese towns to control the water levels in Beijing, were censored from the messaging platform WeChat. "The attempt by government officials is to prevent the leakage of facts (on poverty as well), as we saw in the recent Beijing floods," Subramanyam added. The second aspect, the expert said, is that China's economic situation in the last two years has been very dire. Faltering economy behind rising illegal Chinese migration to the US? To recover from the global economic consequences of the Covid pandemic, Chinese leader Xi Jinping introduced the 'dual circulation' policy to encourage domestic consumption after a fall in external demand for Chinese goods and services. The policy has not paid off, Subramanyam pointed out. "The Chinese do not have enough trust, at least in near terms, of their economy doing well and are saving even more than they already used to do so highly. The consumption rates as a result have been falling," he said. What else is pushing China's poor into the US? The draconian ‘zero-Covid’ policy, coupled with the trade war with the US and the latter’s ban on semiconductor technology, are all adding to Xi Jinping's woes. Moreover, Xi Jinping's flagship Belt and Road Initiative, a massive trade and infrastructure network that seeks to connect the country with the West in a model based on the ancient Silk Route, is "failing", Subramanyam said. Also read | Gravitas: China's Xi Jinping snubbed as Italy dumps BRI × An analysis of a dozen countries most indebted to China — including Pakistan, Kenya, Zambia, Laos and Mongolia — shows that paying back the debt "is consuming an ever-greater amount of the tax revenue…and draining foreign currency reserves", Associated Press reported. Behind this, AP said, "is China’s reluctance to forgive debt and its extreme secrecy about how much money it has loaned and on what terms, which has kept other major lenders from stepping in to help." "China has not only been unable to generate much return on (BRI) investments. It also is in danger of losing the capital in several countries in the last three years," Subramanyam added. Meanwhile, the slow but relentless de-risking leading to the relocation of industries from China to other countries is continuing to expand distress in the world's second-largest economy, pushing thousands of blue-collar workers to look for greener pastures elsewhere in the world. All these may be acting as the 'push factor' in the migration of Chinese to the US. It's an irony of history that, centuries ago, they were among the first Asians to migrate in search of better lives, escaping the poverty at home, which led to the ubiquitous China Towns in several US cities. WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

China's poverty is on display at the Mexico-US border in the form of thousands of Chinese migrants

On the US-Mexico border, the migrants continue to risk death crossing the treacherous Rio Grande River. In spite of a floating barrier put in place by the state of Texas to avoid them from doing so. The move has sparked diplomatic complaints from Mexico.

US-Mexico border: Migrants risk death crossing treacherous Rio Grande River | World News | WION

Amid record temperatures being inducted across the world, the extreme effects of such radical temperatures are being especially felt in North America and Europe. Now, officials have recovered bodies of migrants who lost their lives to the heat in Arizona's borderlands.

Record temperatures and tricky terrain may have caused the deaths. The Guardian reported that a surge in migrant deaths was also recorded in Texas. Rescue operations have picked up through the border with Mexico.

According to the non-profit group called Humane Borders, 43 sets of human remains have been found in the state's border region. These remains were recovered in just the last month, which was the hottest June ever for the region.

Humane Borders tracks bodies found in Arizona using data from Pima county's medical examiner office.

A mapping coordinator for Humane Borders - Mike Kreyche told The Guardian that not all of those bodies were of people who died in June. Out of the 43, 16 had been dead for just a day, while other 13 had been dead for a week before being found.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/science/experts-believe-heatwave-killed-1-billion-marine-animals-on-canada-coast-396890" hreflang="en">Experts believe heatwave killed 1 billion marine animals on Canada coast</a>

The data also signals that all the bodies were of migrants and are much higher in number than eported by the Border Patrol.&nbsp;

Kreyche also noted the increase in dead bodies recovered this years as compared to previous years. 127 sets of remains were found during the first half of 2021, as opposed to 96 bodies that were recovered during the same period last year.

The most common cause of death, as listed by officials is "exposure". According to records, the six-month toll this year is higher than of 2017 wherein 123 sets of remains were found along Arizona's border with Mexico.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/us-pacific-north-west-heatwave-killed-almost-200-people-396895" hreflang="en">US Pacific north-west heatwave killed almost 200 people</a>

According to Texas officials, a surge has been noted in migrant deaths this year. Just last month, Brooks County Sheriff's Department in southern Texas reported 36 migrant deaths in the first five months of 2021, which was higher than all of last year.

Officials have warned of increased dangers this year owing to rising temperatures this summer. Most migrants cross through Texas. But due to strict regulations there, many have been compelled to cross through Arizona, where there is no food or water available.

Amid record temperatures being inducted across the world, the extreme effects of such radical temperatures are being especially felt in North America and Europe.

Amid record temperatures being inducted across the world, the extreme effects of such radical temperatures are being especially felt in North America and Europe. Now, officials have recovered bodies of migrants who lost their lives to the heat in Arizona's borderlands. Record temperatures and tricky terrain may have caused the deaths. The Guardian reported that a surge in migrant deaths was also recorded in Texas. Rescue operations have picked up through the border with Mexico. According to the non-profit group called Humane Borders, 43 sets of human remains have been found in the state's border region. These remains were recovered in just the last month, which was the hottest June ever for the region. Humane Borders tracks bodies found in Arizona using data from Pima county's medical examiner office. A mapping coordinator for Humane Borders - Mike Kreyche told The Guardian that not all of those bodies were of people who died in June. Out of the 43, 16 had been dead for just a day, while other 13 had been dead for a week before being found. Also read: Experts believe heatwave killed 1 billion marine animals on Canada coast The data also signals that all the bodies were of migrants and are much higher in number than eported by the Border Patrol. Kreyche also noted the increase in dead bodies recovered this years as compared to previous years. 127 sets of remains were found during the first half of 2021, as opposed to 96 bodies that were recovered during the same period last year. The most common cause of death, as listed by officials is "exposure". According to records, the six-month toll this year is higher than of 2017 wherein 123 sets of remains were found along Arizona's border with Mexico. Also read: US Pacific north-west heatwave killed almost 200 people According to Texas officials, a surge has been noted in migrant deaths this year. Just last month, Brooks County Sheriff's Department in southern Texas reported 36 migrant deaths in the first five months of 2021, which was higher than all of last year. Officials have warned of increased dangers this year owing to rising temperatures this summer. Most migrants cross through Texas. But due to strict regulations there, many have been compelled to cross through Arizona, where there is no food or water available.

Remains of 43 people killed by heatwave found along US-Mexico border in Arizona: Report

Mexico and the US have been having troubles under the ruling of the twice-impeached (and acquitted) former president <a href="https://www.wionews.com/search?q=Donald+Trump">Donald Trump.</a> However, Mexico believes the relationship is about to get better under the changed leadership of the recently-elected president <a href="Joe Biden">Joe Biden.</a>

In a virtual meeting with Biden on Monday, the Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is hoping to talk to his American counterpart about the importance of migrant labour in the US.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/be-prepared-biden-to-iran-after-us-airstrike-in-syria-366552" hreflang="en">'Be prepared': Biden to Iran after US airstrike in Syria</a>

Speaking at an event in Zacatecas, Lopez Obrador said that migration — of Mexicans to the US — would be one of the key points of his discussion with President Biden.

He is hoping to convince Biden that the US "is going to need Mexican and Central American workers in order to grow, to produce."

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-leadership-sorely-missed-in-past-says-justin-trudeau-for-close-friend-joe-biden-365796" hreflang="en">US leadership 'sorely missed' in past, says Justin Trudeau for 'close friend' Joe Biden</a>

Despite the construction of the infamous 'Mexico wall', Lopez Obrador is assuming that the US would need at least 600,000 to 800,000 migrant workers a year.

Reminiscing about the World War II days, he recalled that the US and Mexico had reached their so-called Bracero agreement under which Mexicans travelled legally to America to fill the vacancies in the US which were left empty due to soldiers travelling abroad to fight.

Lopez Obrador feels the situation is not very different now, and added "without Mexican labor, how can the United States be sure of increased production?"

This has come after Biden, upon his arrival in the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/the-white-house">White House</a>, cancelled the controversial migration program and has been allowing small groups of migrants to enter the country under the asylum requests.

Mexico and the US have been having troubles under the ruling of the twice-impeached (and acquitted) former president Donald Trump. However, Mexico believes the relationship is about to get better under the changed leadership of the recently-elected president Joe Biden.

Mexico and the US have been having troubles under the ruling of the twice-impeached (and acquitted) former president Donald Trump. However, Mexico believes the relationship is about to get better under the changed leadership of the recently-elected president Joe Biden. In a virtual meeting with Biden on Monday, the Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is hoping to talk to his American counterpart about the importance of migrant labour in the US. Also read| 'Be prepared': Biden to Iran after US airstrike in Syria Speaking at an event in Zacatecas, Lopez Obrador said that migration — of Mexicans to the US — would be one of the key points of his discussion with President Biden. He is hoping to convince Biden that the US "is going to need Mexican and Central American workers in order to grow, to produce." Also read| US leadership 'sorely missed' in past, says Justin Trudeau for 'close friend' Joe Biden Despite the construction of the infamous 'Mexico wall', Lopez Obrador is assuming that the US would need at least 600,000 to 800,000 migrant workers a year. Reminiscing about the World War II days, he recalled that the US and Mexico had reached their so-called Bracero agreement under which Mexicans travelled legally to America to fill the vacancies in the US which were left empty due to soldiers travelling abroad to fight. Lopez Obrador feels the situation is not very different now, and added "without Mexican labor, how can the United States be sure of increased production?" This has come after Biden, upon his arrival in the White House, cancelled the controversial migration program and has been allowing small groups of migrants to enter the country under the asylum requests.

US and Mexico presidents to discuss migration policies for 'increased production'

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China's poverty is on display at the Mexico-US border in the form of thousands of Chinese migrants

US-Mexico border: Migrants risk death crossing treacherous Rio Grande River | World News | WION

Remains of 43 people killed by heatwave found along US-Mexico border in Arizona: Report

US and Mexico presidents to discuss migration policies for 'increased production'