ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how China’s central and local governments steer who becomes an urban citizen and whether there are early indications of an integrated approach of governing migration in the making. It investigates the evolution of China’s differentiated and localized citizenship regime as well as the policies of immigration and foreign residency at the national level. Hierarchical differentiation within local citizenship regimes included relatively preferential treatment of college graduates, experts in science and technology, and well-to-do investors and taxpayers. The recent reforms centralize many aspects of the governance of internal migration, but they do not abandon local differentiation. China’s relationship with foreigners within its territory has long been characterized by a high degree of ambivalence. The cities of Shanghai and Yiwu are both located in the prosperous Yangtze River Delta. In 2018, the Shanghai Municipal Government adapted its point-based system for residence status.
