Xu, Mengran; (2023) Migrants’ intergroup relations in urban China. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

Text Final version_Migrants' intergroup relations in urban China.pdf - Accepted Version Access restricted to UCL open access staff until 1 August 2028. Download (2MB)

Abstract

Migrants accounted for over one-fourth of the total population in China by 2021. How these migrants develop intergroup relations is not only important to migrants themselves but also fundamental to the cohesion of the whole society. The existing intergroup relations literature has often focused on multi-ethnic contexts, while insufficient attention has been paid to the Chinese context, where migrants and natives are distinguished from each other by hukou (household registration system) rather than ethnicity. Moreover, most intergroup relations studies have investigated what migrants actually achieve but ignored what migrants aspire for. New assimilation theory and the model of intergenerational integration emphasise that immigrants actively decide whether or not to integrate, suggesting a need to understand migrants’ own aspirations for integration. Based on the sub-survey of the 2014 China Migrants Dynamic Survey and interviews conducted in Beijing, this thesis studies the intergroup relations of migrants in urban China and the underlying dynamics. The intergroup relations are studied from three aspects, actual intergroup relations, aspirations for intergroup relations and the gap between these two aspects. There are four key findings. First, migrants generally get along well with locals but tend to have higher aspirations for intergroup relations, ending up with unfulfilled aspirations. Second, rural migrants tend to have poorer intergroup relations than urban migrants. Third, a mixed workplace has a greater potential to cultivate intergroup relations than a mixed neighbourhood. Fourth, both socioeconomic advancement and acculturation (cultural adaptation) can improve migrants’ intergroup relations. This thesis contributes to the intergroup relations research by focusing on the Chinese context. It also contributes to the broader integration research by extending new assimilation theory and the model of intergenerational integration to the Chinese context and separating what migrants actually achieve from what they aspire for. Its findings provide insights for policy makers of migrant integration.

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