【参考消息】头条 | 英媒：这两个新设机构彰显中国全球抱负
2018年4月2日英国《金融时报》网站3月28日刊登题为《中国的移民和援助机构是全球抱负的标志》的文章称，在本月早些时候的中国全国人大会议上成立了两个新的政府机构。国家移民管理局和国家国际发展合作署均以各自的方式象征着北京为中国不断扩大的全球角色提供制度性支持的努力。
▲英国《金融时报》网站报道截图
文章称，入境移民在中国是一个相对新鲜的现象。监控和管理跨境人员的流动历来属于公安部门的管辖范围。另一方面，移民概念与扩大边境开放的积极含义有关。其中的差异不仅体现在语义学方面，而且还表明政府对跨境移民的态度发生了改变。
文章称，这种改变背后的推动力可以追溯至中国不断变化的经济和人口现实。随着国家面临劳动力队伍年龄的老化以及对于中国远大经济抱负至关重要的人才的短缺，对外国人才的吸引和管理正在被日益融入北京“新时代”的大战略中。设立国家移民管理局意在帮助中国赢得全球人才争夺战。
▲一位外籍人士展示刚取得的外国人永久居留身份证。
文章称，在特朗普总统领导的美国政府采取更具限制性的移民政策的背景下，此举也向世界发出信号，表明中国将接纳入境移民，作为其支持更以人为本的全球化版本的一部分。
文章又称，随着中国实现从受援国向施援国的转变，国家国际发展合作署将整合目前分散在政府和民间的不同行政部门和实体中的制度性对外援助责任。
文章称，作为一个崛起中的大国，中国被日益要求在世界舞台承担更为显著的角色。“一带一路”倡议已经提高了中国对外援助计划的重要性。人们的希望是，一个集中的管理机构将提高资源的动员和配置效率。
▲中国援苏丹医疗队举行爱心义诊。图为普外科医生杨占祥在现场分析检查患者X光片。
文章称，这两个计划设立的部门共同预示着中国全球抱负的时代。移民和发展援助是全球化的两个方面，它们需要获得国家层面、跨国层面以及超国家层面的制度性支持。
文章称，作为新加入国际移民组织的成员，中国现在将拥有国家移民管理局作为其在该组织中的主要代表。而诸如美国国际开发署和欧洲民事保护与人道主义援助行动部等机构，现在也将拥有一个可以与之互动的明确的对等中国机构。
Financial Times: China’s immigration and aid agencies a sign of global aspiration
Author: Wang Huiyao, founder and president of the Center for China and Globalization, a think-tank based in Beijing.
Two new government agencies were created at the meeting of China’s National People’s Congress earlier this month. The State Immigration Administration and the International Development and Cooperation Agency each in its own way signifies Beijing’s endeavour to provide institutional support for China’s expanding global role.
Inbound immigration is a relatively new phenomenon in China. Monitoring and regulating cross-border flows of people traditionally fell within the purview of the public security authorities. The concept of immigration, on the other hand, is associated with the positive connotation of greater border openness. The difference is not merely semantic but suggests a shift in the government’s approach to transnational migration.
The driving force behind such a shift can be traced to China’s changing economic and demographic realities. As the nation confronts an ageing workforce and a shortage of brainpower critical to China’s economic ambitions, attracting and managing foreign talent is increasingly being incorporated into Beijing’s grand strategy for the “new era.” Setting up the State Immigration Administration is intended to help China win the battle for global talent.
In the context of more restrictive immigration policies under the US administration of President Donald Trump, it also sends a signal to the world that China is embracing inbound immigration as part of its commitment to a more human-centred version of globalisation.
As China transforms itself from an aid recipient to an aid giver, the International Development and Cooperation Agency is set to streamline the institutional responsibilities for foreign aid that are currently Balkanised among different bureaucratic agencies and entities across the state and the civil society.
As a rising power, China is increasingly called to take on a more prominent role on the world stage. The Belt and Road Initiative, a strategy to build infrastructure and foster development among more than 80 countries, has increased the importance of China’s foreign aid programme. A centralised administrative body, it is hoped, will boost efficiency in mobilising and allocating resources.
Together, these two proposed agencies herald the era of China’s global aspirations. Migration and development aid are two aspects of globalisation that require institutional support at national, transnational and supranational levels.
The ideas to set up agencies overseeing immigration and foreign aid have been floating around in Beijing circles for years. As a new member of the International Organisation for Migration, China now has the State Immigration Administration as a primary vehicle of representation. Agencies such as the United States Agency for International Development and the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations now have a clear Chinese counterpart with which to interact.
The two newcomers to the central bureaucracy have attracted much public attention. However, their future is not without challenge. Newly set up, the immigration agency needs to add a team of professionals that is different to those working in public security fields. As the need for co-operation with foreign counterparts and international organisations, the agency is likely to confront a sharp demand for domestic talent who are experienced in managing cross-national inter-agency affairs.
For the development aid agency, the challenge will come from the task of easing the west’s anxiety about a perceived hidden strategic agenda. It remains to be seen how these agencies’ interactions with the outside world, in the context of growing geopolitical competition and a renewed “China threat” sentiment, would be perceived and interpreted both at home and abroad. The burden of proof falls on to China.
From Financial Times，2018-3-28
