China’s Diaspora Policy Implications for Overseas Chinese in Peru and Argentina

Abstract

As a form of ‘transnationalism from above’—that is, promoted by the state—diaspora strategies and policies have become a topic of interest for the Chinese state and academics alike over the past two decades. Although different aspects of the Chinese diaspora have been addressed, we seek to contribute to this field of study by exploring the ways in which the policies of the country of origin are experienced by, and concern the actions and subjectivities of, members of the Chinese overseas communities. We analyse the characteristics, evolution and reception of the PRC’s governance over its diaspora in Lima, Peru and Buenos Aires, Argentina. We complement this with a social anthropological analysis to describe the moral categories by which the members of the Chinese diaspora define themselves. We round off with some words about the repercussions of the PRC’s diaspora policy on the associations and the subjectivities of Chinese migrants and their descendants in these two Latin American countries.