China beats Britain as top nation for moving to Australia

December 10 2009 by Liam Clifford

China surpasses the UK with the amount of new immigrants deciding to move to Australia.

In the four months to October 2009, a record 6,350 migrants moved to Australia from China, which, for the first time, exceeded the number that moved to Australia from the UK and New Zealand.

Over the same period, 5,800 Brits decided to live in Australia, while 4,740 people from New Zealand made the same move. The increase in immigration from China follows moves by Australia and China to improve diplomatic relations.

In the months leading up to October 2009, relations between the nations were tense as a result of China’s failed A$19.5 billion investment in Australia’s Rio Tinto mining firm and the granting of Australian visas to several of China’s ethnic Uighur separatists.

However, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd – who speaks Mandarin – spoke to China’s Premier Wen Joabao at the Asia Summit in October, and the two began working on their differences.

A recent poll of Chinese public opinion found that most people now welcome Australia as part of Asia and feel it has an important part to play in the continent.

Before China’s improved relations with Australia, immigrants from the UK were the largest group of newcomers moving to Australia.

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