Introduction

Throughout the 21st century, the number of international migrants has increased rapidly worldwide. In 2020 there were about 281 million migrants, representing an increase of 128 million in three decades (^{IOM, 2022}). The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs defines international migrants as people who move to a country other than their original place of residence and reside in the receiving country for at least 12 months, regardless of the reason for migration or their legal status.¹ The People’s Republic of China (hereafter: China) has one of the largest transnationals communities² in the world itself, with about 10 million Chinese international migrants (2020 figure), mainly in Canada, Australia, the Republic of Korea, Japan, the United States, and Singapore (^{IOM, 2022}).

On the other hand, even countries that historically have low rates of international immigration, such as China, have seen an increase in foreign residents. In the last two decades, the Asian country has implemented policies to attract international students, and, in the past few years, Asia has become the top destination, with almost half a million foreign students, and which are opportunities that can be transformed into a bridge for them to become workers in the country (^{Qi, 2021}). In 2019, 1,030,871 foreign residents resided in China, accounting for 0.07% of the total population. Hong Kong (284,848) and South Korea (196,874) are the main origin countries. In the case of Latin American immigrants, the two main countries of origin are Brazil (78,301) and Peru (14,211).³

Currently, China is developing as an emerging global power and consequently is transitioning from a predominantly migrant-sending nation to a recipient of international immigrants.⁴ Because this change is recent, migration studies in China still mainly focus on internal labor migration, with a rich corpus in this regard (^{Qian and Florence, 2021}; ^{Gao, 2021}; ^{Sun, 2014}; ^{Liu et al., 2015}; ^{Pun, 2016}); as well as research on forced internal migration due to state development projects (^{Feng, Zhu and Wang, 2021}). However, with the increase of foreigners in large cities, more studies are being conducted in this regard. These include research on high-skilled migration (^{Li et al., 2021}), experiences of African traders in the south of the country (^{Carling and Haugen, 2021}; ^{Jordan et al., 2021}), and on Chinese policies to attract immigrants and internationalize its major cities, turning them into global cities (^{Ong, 2011}).

Given that these inquiries are in their early stages, we find vast generalizations, such as using the term “western expats” (^{Cai and Su, 2021}), and shortcomings in the internal definitions of western immigrants from the global north or Africa. In this context, it is essential to develop a precise approach for each immigrant minority from various regions of the world, including Latin America. This research is based on two key points:

First, the research subjects must be treated with an accurate terminological definition. For example, Latin America, as we use the concept here, refers to the largest cultural area of the American continent, which includes 18 countries,⁵ where Spanish is the most widely spoken language, the common language.⁶ This concept has been used in classic historiographical and anthropological writings such as ^{Urbanski (1978)}, and the reason for its adoption here is its scientific precision as opposed tendency to use terms such as Latino or Latin American. ^{Torres (2016)} indicates in his historiographic research that the commonly used concept of “Latino” is a European political construct that lacks scientific precision.⁷ In addition, the self-identification and self-distinction of immigrants should be considered, as there is evidence that Latin American immigrants in Japan manifest a desire to distinguish themselves from other foreigners (^{Piffaut Gálvez, 2020a}; ²⁰²³). In the context of an emerging type of immigration to China, a subject still unexplored, it is essential to describe this group accurately from the beginning.

Second, it is crucial to precisely understand the motivations for migration for various groups of individuals, as this constitutes the fundamental starting point for understanding a particular migration process. In this context, as noted above in the review of previous studies, the case of Latin Americans in China remains an unexplored field. As the number of people residing with different origins in China increases, it is to be expected that their migratory motivations will also diversify. Here, we consider immigrant motivation as a psychological process that induces migratory behavior and directs it toward certain goals.

In psychological terms, motivation is formed through an interaction between internal and external factors. Intrinsic motivation drives people to participate in activities for the satisfaction they provide in themselves, while extrinsic motivation involves the pursuit of actions to obtain external rewards, such as compliments, recognition, or approval (^{Ryan & Deci, 2000}). On the other hand, an inescapable theme in the contemporary migration history between East Asia and Latin America is the emigration of Peruvian-Japanese and Brazilian-Japanese to Japan, mainly during the 1980s and 1990s.

During this period Japan experienced economic improvements and stability -while Latin America faced economic difficulties- and offered work visas, which prompted greater immigration due to the need for workers. This phenomenon has been subject of research for more than 30 years (^{Yamanaka, 1996}; ^{Sekiguchi, 2005}; ^{Takenaka, 2005}; ^{Maeda, 2006}; ^{Tsuda, 2022}; among many others). However, there is limited research (^{Cai & Su, 2021}; ^{Li et al., 2021}; ^{Piffaut Gálvez, 2020a}, ^2020b, ²⁰²³) focused on the migration to East Asia of people from the Western Hemisphere who are not descendants of any diaspora. In this case, Latin Americans who have no ethnic ties with China, therefore, a geographically, linguistically, and culturally distant countries. It is necessary to consider what motivations have influenced them to choose China as a destination, discarding geographical, linguistic, and cultural alternatives closer to their origins, and which are preferred by so many other emigrants in the region, such as the United States, Europe or Australia.

In theory, over the last few decades migration studies have increasingly developed in an interdisciplinary way, drawing on disciplines such as media studies, which have focused on immigrants’ use of social networks (^{Mcgregor and Siegel, 2013}), the mediabased construction of migration (^{Viola and Musolff, 2019}), and the relationship of the media and its cultural products with immigrants, demonstrating the impact of media products on their acceptance (^{King and Wood, 2013}). This article is positioned from this type of media studies; however, we add the notion of “soft power” to clarify our future analysis. What do we mean by soft power: the ability of a nation to obtain support, comprehension, empathy and international influence through the diffusion of its culture, political values and the attractiveness of its policies without the application of coercive forces; awakening admiration and respect in other nations (^{Nye, 2004}).

On the other hand, in this article we will refer to cultural consumption, understood as “the set of processes of appropriation and uses of products in which the symbolic value takes precedence over the values of use and change, or where at least the latter is configured subordinate to the symbolic dimension” (^{García, 1999}). At the same time, we understand that cultural consumption should be considered as a practice that manifests itself in the appropriation and use of cultural products, while their value is linked to culture and the interpretations that people make of it (^{Sunkel, 2002}).

Likewise, originally cultural products are works of art, books, videos, music and video games (^{Cuadrado & Berenguer, 2002}), focusing on mass production materialized through tangible support for consumption. However, in this article also education and its contents are considered a cultural good, understanding that it delivers these meanings and possesses symbolic forms whose specificity is to be produced in a social field, a field of cultural production (^{Bourdieu, 1993}), and, in addition, it is as in this case a paid consumer good (^{Verger, 2013}).

Finally, the study of professional immigrants has been deepening our understanding of the diversity of migration processes in the early part of the 21st century, which is an era of global networks, transnationalism, and the movement of skilled personnel (^{Colic-Peisker, 2010}; ^{Cranston, 2016}). We also included generational differentiation to delimit our subjects of study even further. Although there is no single standard of classification, in this research we follow ^{Novella et al. (2018)}, who defines for Latin America, the Generation Y; also known as “millennial generation” (hereafter: Generation Y), as those born between 1984 and 1996.

As a result, the main objective of this study is to investigate the motivations of Generation Y Latin American professionals to choose China as a migration destination, focusing on the influence of Chinese soft power through its cultural products. It seeks to answer the following questions: How does Chinese soft power, expressed in its cultural products, affect the motivations of Generation Y Latin Americans to migrate to China? What are these cultural products? Thus, this article has six rationales:

Research methodology⁸

This study used a non-probabilistic qualitative sample, considered valid for its representativeness of the group under study. This approach does not attempt to make statistical inferences from the sample to the general population. Instead, grounded theory was applied through iterative non-probabilistic sampling until theoretical saturation was reached (^{Strauss & Corbin, 1990}). Generalization is based on theoretical saturation and analytical generalization rather than statistical generalization. The study was initiated with snowball sampling (^{Voicu, 2011}), and later incorporated a purposive sampling approach (^{Etikan et al., 2016}). Purposive sampling is based on selecting the sample according to specific qualities relevant to the research topic.

Data was collected through semi-structured, in-depth qualitative interviews (^{Taylor et al., 2015}) complemented with a closed-response questionnaire-type survey (^{Mellenbergh, 2008}). First, exploratory interviews were conducted to identify individuals’ experiences regarding their immigration process. Subsequently, in-depth interviews were conducted on the specific topic of their personal motivations as emigrants from their countries of origin and as immigrants in the receiving country.

Based on this research data, a questionnaire with closed-ended questions was constructed to cover the issues raised in the interviews in a clear, concise and quantitative manner. The first exploratory interviews were conducted from October to December 2021, the qualitative in-depth interviews, questionnaires and their subsequent final analysis were conducted between August and December 2022. At the time of the research, the individuals resided throughout three of the most important and populated regions of China, namely, the directly administered municipalities of Beijing and Shanghai, plus Guangdong province, the first two being part of the northeastern region of China, and the latter part of the southern region. Interviews were conducted online given the restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Twenty-five people participated in this study, 20 from Generation Y, 75.0% men (15) and 25.0% women (5). They were on average 30 years old (28 to 35 years old) at the time of the research. For comparative purposes, there was added a separate, smaller group of 5 middle-aged people, on average 46 years old (between 45 and 48 years old), of whom 80.0 % were men (4) and 20.0 % were women (1).

All participants are first-generation professional immigrants and Latin Americans without Chinese ancestry who have resided for at least 3 years in China and have a legalized residency status that allows them to work according to Chinese law. In addition, according to their professional background and educational level, they are all professional immigrants. The majority (92.0 %) are university graduates, but a minority (8.0 %) are graduates of professional institutes. A summary of the participants is presented in Chart 1.

Finally, the present research is conducted at Kyoto University, Japan, therefore, it is under the Code of Ethics of the Japanese Sociological Society (^{JSS, 2008}).⁹ The purpose and scope of the research were explained to each participant, as well as the safeguards that would protect their privacy before obtaining their consent.

Results

We will first present the results of the questionnaire survey on the participants’ motivations for leaving their country of origin, and their subsequent choice of China as a destination. We will continue to analyze the influence of Chinese soft power through the cultural products with which the subjects interacted within Latin America: such as audiovisual media and Chinese educational institutions. Here, the relationship of Generation Y individuals to these educational products and institutions are analyzed through the subjective understanding of the participants as shared through the interviews. Then, a comparison with previous generation immigrants is presented to highlight experiential differences. Finally, characteristics of the process of building a relationship with China on a personal level, which explains their migration process, are discussed.

From the motivation to emigrate to the choice of China as a destination

Migration has long been described and explained by push-pull factors. For this type of model, push factors are regional, pushing people out of their countries of origin, while pull factors are those that drive people to a destination (^{Ishikawa, 2013}). In our questionnaire, we asked Latin American participants to report the factors that pushed them to leave their country of origin. The categories are constructed according to expulsion factors expressed by them in the interviews. We allowed for dual responses to create a hierarchy of primary and secondary reasons. This allowed the selection of the responses and subsequent analysis, the results are classified into categories and summarized in Chart 2.

The primary reasons for emigration were in the economic category (64.0 %). These were “job dissatisfaction”; related to their job experiences in non-related jobs and their subsequent dissatisfaction, and “economic instability”, which refers to the perception of poor promotion prospects and a poor balance between salaries and hiring requirements. Thus, the primary reasons for leaving their countries of origin were poor economic and employment prospects, salary instability, and anxiety about job sustainability and job satisfaction levels. This was followed by motives within the sociocultural category (28.0 %), focused on improving their life quality, leaving crime and violence behind, which are perceived as serious problems in their respective countries, starting a family (marriage), and labor relocation. A less common category of motivations involves political issues (8.0 %).

Turning to secondary motivations is where we find a marked and interesting trend. The most frequent secondary motivation was “interest in living abroad” (60.0 %), a considerable number of the participants who chose this option were those who had chosen “economic instability” as their primary motivation. The logic is reversed between primary motivations that can be considered more serious and urgent, and secondary motivations that are not connected to a serious and urgent problem but rather to personal desires, so that “job dissatisfaction” and “economic instability” seem to be associated with an underlying desire to live in a different culture and have international experiences.

On the other hand, those who had chosen “political instability” were equally subdivided between “interest in living abroad” and “economic instability”. Likewise, those who chose “marriage” and “job relocation” as their first motive selected “crime and violence” as well as “political instability” as secondary motives. Regarding the participants who chose more serious motivations, such as poverty and crime, as primary reasons (12.0 %), those who answered “crime and violence” were equally subdivided between “interest in living abroad” and “economic instability”, while those who chose “poverty” switched to “economic instability”, meaning that migrants with more serious motivations kept their answers in line with this, expressing more serious reasons for leaving their country.

The analysis of these data leads to the question of why our participants did not choose to emigrate to countries in the northern hemisphere, not only geographically closer but also culturally and linguistically; destinations to which it might be easier to adapt, such as Europe or the United States. In Chart 3, the personal reasons for choosing China present an interesting distribution that shows a considerable change in their motivations. While the personal motivations for leaving the country were mainly associated with the economic category, the dominant reason for choosing China was “interest in Chinese culture and society” (68.0 %).

In addition, all participants who previously expressed more serious motivations for emigrating also chose “interest in Chinese culture and society” as a secondary reason for choosing China. This suggests a deeper logic underpinning their decision to cross to the other side of the world to reach far-away China, rather than seeking a country that is geographically and culturally closer, comparatively easier to immigrate to, and that would provide equally attractive benefits. The question that arises here is why and how the interest in China arose in these individuals.

To clarify this question, it is necessary to know what process led these immigrants to become interested in China despite having a society and culture so different from their familiar Latin American world; especially if we consider that they are not descendants of the Chinese diaspora and have no previous family ties to the country. Chart 4 presents a compendium of the means of contact with Chinese culture that have been alluded by the participants during the interviews. Based on the survey, the categories have been grouped and divided into primary means; the first encountered during each subject’s lifetime, and secondary means; which represent the main resources that each subject subsequently discovered by deepening their individual interests.

In this way, the main of contact with Chinese culture has been audiovisuals, specifically cinematographic works of Chinese origin (92.0%). The rest (8.0% is divides into cinematographic works of Chinese origin (92.0 %). The rest (8.0 %) is divided into documentaries and Chinese martial arts; 4.0 % each. On the hand, the most frequent means of secondary contact was education (40.0 %), a category constituted based on the frequent reference to educational institutions teaching Chinese language and culture; institutions directly related to the Asian nation. It is noteworthy that the audiovisual media category received a still considerable total percentage (44.0 %), even as a secondary medium. Undoubtedly, China’s audiovisual media had a great influence on the respondents’ approach to the country and, subsequently, on their decisions to select it as a destination.

Chart 5 presents the age of the respondents at first contact with Chinese culture through the previously mentioned media. This was mostly during early adulthood: between 20 and 29 years of age (76.0 %). While experiences in essential stages of character formation, such as adolescence or childhood are less frequent: 20.0% of individuals between 10 and 19 years of age. Likewise, we have one case of contact during adulthood: at 30 years of age (4.0 %).

Experiences during essential stages of personality formation, such as adolescence, often influence life choices, possibly even decisions as important as the choice of a migratory destination many years later. However, this adolescent contact was only true for people of the past generation, while those who had their first contact in their 20s are mostly members of Generation Y. While getting to know a culture during adulthood may not necessarily be as emotional as a bond created during childhood, this period should be a time of greater maturity and therefore influences the bond built. This will be discussed in the next section.

Finally, no particular differences were found between men and women, or between nationalities.

Chinese soft power in Latin America

Here we will explain the macro-level conditions in the Latin American region concerning the means of Chinese soft power expansion, and how they relate to the bond that the participants in this study built with this country at the micro-social level, specifically in the personal aspect of decision-making. We also collected information on a subgroup of middle-aged immigrants, which shed light on certain changes over time.

Building a Relationship between Latin Americans and China

In order to refer to migration between Latin America and East Asia, it is essential to refer briefly to the only large-scale phenomenon in recent history: the migration of descendants of the Japanese diaspora (Nikkei) to Japan. ^{Higuchi (2002)} states that a system of mediation organizations or agencies (斡旋組織/assen-soshiki) was established in South American countries; mainly Peru and Brazil, where the largest Nikkei communities in the world were established, as in Japan, and this system played the role of a link at a mesoassociative level, encouraging the immigration of descendants to Japan, in other words, influencing individual decision making in favor of the macro-structural economic factors of Japan at that time. Thus, while it is attractive to immediately link macro-structural factors to individual decision making, it is necessary to discover and understand the linkages at the medium-social level between macro conditions and individuals (^{Higuchi, 2002}).

The present research describes the existence of a new means that acquired the position of an organizational connection at the meso-associative level; mainly Chinese educational institutions. The fact that Generation Y Latin Americans who did not possess family, ethnic or social ties decided to migrate to China despite the tremendous geographic and cultural distance indicates the existence of a constructed relationship with China that has developed over the years for each individual before leaving their countries for the first time. Generation Y participants were found to have been recipients of Chinese cultural products. And they in turn, as students, positively received a discourse regarding China from educational institutions directly related to the country.

In this case, the Confucius Institute has managed to capture the interest of a group of people in the Latin American region through a display of soft power, literally on the other side of the world and with no common cultural background. The immigrants built emotional connections to China through their approach to this foreign culture, it is that connection that gives meaning to their decision-making and courses of action. This emotional aspect of decision-making is also reflected in the subjects’ narratives. We present excerpts below.

From the beginning, China became quite a desirable country, ideal almost, because it represents an order and values that are being lost in our countries. For example, watching movies and series I could feel the value they still place on a close family, then studying Chinese and meeting the [Chinese] teachers I learned about their customs for New Year and things like that... and I thought it was great that even with all the economic growth they stay true to who they are. Before I arrived, I wasn’t completely sure about that, but living here I think it’s true, and that satisfies me as much or more than a good job (#17) (Male, 32, Chile).

I think many of us created a very positive idea of China before coming, as a contrast to our country. A peaceful country with a wonderful millenary culture, many traditions, and a good future. Living in a place where you learn other things, good and bad, but in general, it is most positive (#6) (Female, 29, Peru).

At first, you watch kung-fu action movies because it’s cool, but after I started learning about their culture and language, getting to know your teachers more, for example, I started to see it all deeper, as a country that has a lot of potential for the future, but also very traditional. The security also attracts you, especially because, I think, Mexico is getting worse. It kind of makes you want to be part of their [China’s] growth (#10) (Male, 30, Mexico).

Participants saw the country as an attractive destination by absorbing the official discourses of the institution,¹² and then bonded with it through a renewed, and one could even argue, idealized image.

Subsequently, the individuals internalized discourses and attitudes towards China, and then emigrated. Based on their testimonies, we understand that the individual begins by unilaterally building a relationship with the country through, for example, the media mentioned in this article, however, only after encountering Chinese institutions does a motivation to migrate start to crystallize. Then, simultaneously to the process of Chinese language study, the use of internet connectivity allows them to further deepen their particular interests.

There is a high component of individuality in their decisions, even to the point of being considered as “weird or strange” by their compatriots or even their relatives, due to the strangeness of their choice in the judgment of others. ^{Beck and Beck-Gernsheim (2002)} have described this type of individualization as a characteristic of the contemporary human being, as individual freedom of choice over one’s own life, detaching oneself from many sociocultural ties of previous generations. Therefore, it is natural that there is a process of individualization within contemporary international migration, which means that freedom of choice expands to the motivations and choice of migratory destination, regardless of the cultural background of the country of origin, or of the individual themself who now decides what they want to approach.

The actions and motivations of immigrants are reflected in their personal narratives, driving their choice of destination. These participants received messages from Chinese media and institutions, which they integrated into their own narratives justifying their choice. Although other needs may arise, these are interwoven into the migration narrative, which supports their choice. The reason for wanting to leave the country of origin may not be intrinsically connected to the destination selected. However, these needs are linked to the narrative, reinforcing it, and justifying the specific process they chose.

The participants in this study can be understood as consumers of Chinese cultural products, either in their audiovisual media format, or through discourses delivered by educational institutions. Then, following ^{Garcia’s theorizations (2012)}, as they consume such products, they may have come to recognize themselves through narratives and the images constructed around such products. On the other hand, significant internal distinctions appeared between generations; these can be explained as arising from the structural conditions between China and Latin America, and from the media market available during their youth.

Finally, it is argued that, in order to understand contemporary and emerging migration processes more accurately, it is necessary to start from the perspective of the immigrants themselves, and then carry out a multifactorial analysis that goes beyond traditional macro-social and economic factors. It is argued that individualized consumption personalizes motivation. Over years of daily acts of consumption and exposure, the constituent elements necessary for decision-making naturally emerge. These elements can be shared with strangers, but who are still recipients of the same external incentives.

Limitations and future work

These data correspond to a specific case in the field of international migration and social phenomena in China. Although we have explored the motivations of this particular group, future studies, either on a larger scale or on other cases, may shed light on similarities and differences between different groups. This study is part of a larger investigation of Latin American immigrants in East Asia, including professionals residing in Japan and South Korea. Our future analyses will focus on symbolic anthropology to understand how the image of the host country is constructed and its impact on the migration experience.

Conclusions

In this research, based on empirical data collection on personal motivations for migration, we analyze the background structural conditions between the Latin American cultural region and China, in terms of Chinese soft power through its cultural products present in the region, and consider the need for a connection between the structural conditions surrounding this migration and personal migration motivations. The results of the survey and the analyses of structural conditions produced the following observations.

First, from an expulsion-attraction factor perspective, the personal motivations for leaving their countries are concisely accounted for, if the focus is on purely economic migrants who prioritize economic needs. However, the mechanism of selection of geographically and culturally distant destinations is not satisfactorily explained. Here, it was found that personal motivations for choosing China as a destination are largely due to the influence of Chinese soft power. Secondly, when comparing the influence of Chinese institutions and media in Latin America among subjects of Generation Y, as well as a subgroup of Generation X, it was found that there is a generation gap between the two, so the older generation is motivated by different life situations that are not related to Chinese institutions. Finally, we find that it is a symbolic, emotional, and individual connection constructed by immigrants themselves to China that directly connects macro-social conditions and individual decision-making at the micro-social level. This connection manifests itself as idealistic narratives born out of their interaction with Chinese cultural products.

The previously mentioned characteristics indicate how structural conditions prior to migration are transformed into motivational prerequisites. A transformation happens through the individuals’ interpretations prior to migration, revealing an interaction between the products received and individual decision-making.

Focusing on a process of selection of destination that transcends mere economic migration, this article constructs a framework that allows us to understand the influence of Chinese culture through its educational institutions in the mid-2000s; through the narratives of the immigrants themselves, providing an explanation that goes beyond economic factors, while clarifying the motives of Latin Americans in China and their particular migration about the macro-conditions of their countries of origin. This is not to deny the role of more classical factors in determining immigration destinations, however, here we deal with a particular immigration process in contemporary times, as well as with particular circumstances between particular countries, namely between China and Latin American countries during the 21st century. Our results highlight the need to diversify the research perspective on international migration and to reconsider the image of specific migration phenomena in China.