Africans in China: A Sociocultural Study and Its Implications on ...

CHAPTER 2

AFRICANS IN GUANGZHOU

2.1. Introduction

There are many Africans in Guangzhou and other parts of Guangdong. Many are traders and they are the focus of my discussion of Africans in Guangzhou. It should be noted that there are some Africans in Guanzhou who are not traders. However, they still interact with the African trading community in Guangzhou, which forms the locus of African lives and the African presence in Guangzhou.

Given the current rate and dynamics of the migration to and establishment of communities in China by Africans and people of African descent, it is not a stretch to envision that in 100 years, there could be a very well-established African Chinese minority ethnic group demanding to be recognized as a distinct ethnic group in the country and accorded full citizenship rights in China. Questions would then be raised about the origins of these ethnic minorities, their reasons for being in China,