China - Migration flows between China and the European Union (EU) have been steadily increasing in recent years, with rising numbers of Chinese tourists, students and business people visiting EU Member States. Meanwhile, China is becoming an increasingly attractive country of destination for Europeans. 

In addition to this regular migration, the complexity of transnational human trafficking and migrant smuggling requires increased technical cooperation between the Chinese and European authorities. These issues were among those which will be discussed in Beijing this week at an EU-China Seminar on Mobility and Migration, hosted by IOM’s Liaison Office in China.

Bringing together over 100 senior European and Chinese officials, the seminar provided an opportunity for in-depth dialogue between the EU Member States and Chinese authorities on migration issues.

At yesterday’s opening event, IOM Director General William Lacy Swing said that the seminar is “a very positive step towards technical cooperation between the EU and China, which will pave the way for enhanced dialogue between the two sides.”

Elvinas Jankevicius, Lithuania’s Vice Minister of Interior, representing the EU Presidency, said: “I have found this seminar very timely and hope it could lead us towards a closer dialogue on migration issues.”

"We would like to strengthen our cooperation with IOM and the EU, and want to encourage regular global mobility," said Zhang Ming, Assistant Minister at China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The seminar is being held under the framework of IOM’s ongoing: “Capacity Building for Migration and Management in China” project, which has been funded by the European Commission since 2007.

For more information, please contact

Ellen Wong
IOM Beijing
Email: ewong@iom.int
Tel. +86 18501187152