Nowadays the US sees more and more people coming from China, especially from inland areas. In a century's time many Chinese had rushed to the US hunting for "gold". They earned money with their sweat and toil, and send them back to their families in China, or return home to go on their personal pursuits.
Though China is now getting richer, it is still wiser to earn money in the US and spend them in China judging from average incomes and price levels of the two countries. However, what's strange is many people bring money from China and spend them in the US.
In Los Angeles Airport, the biggest air harbor in western coastline, a string of planes are busily transferring people between China and the US. One batch of Chinese tourists after another arrived, worrying about nothing but whether they can eat and live comfortably, and buy proper things with their money in hand.
They spend generously, attracting astonishing eyes from many Americans. Along with this are Chinese students flowing in, no longer looking like those poor fellows twenty years ago, who grasped a few notes and couldn't find the best way to spend. Recently Chinese students spend hundreds of millions US dollars in the country each year, statistics told.
Now many Chinese are really rich, some Americans and old overseas Chinese sighed. Since China's reform and opening up twenty years ago, many millionaires have appeared from private entrepreneurs. Many of them, not satisfied with their operations in China, went abroad to seek more new opportunities. Of course, still some of them, thinking their property not safe in China, founds ways to transfer their property to the US. Buying houses and sending children to American schools are the first step they enter the US society.
Many rich Chinese, not only living in magnificent houses, but also driving luxury cars-Benz, BMW, Lincoln? ?They are therefore called "rich mainlanders" by local media.
There are still others who spend money like water without knitting of a brow. In Las Vegas half the number of local people have black eyes and hairs, a large part of them being Chinese.
Who are transferring property?
Except for those private entrepreneurs, some people have transferred their illegal incomes got in China to the US, first their families in the way of investment and migration, then their capital. While themselves stay in China to go on with their "business". As long as the wind changes they just escape quickly to the US.
Many are wondering how they bring over millions of US dollars into the US, as frequently seen in gambling, since both governments have strict administrations on foreign currency?
Many channels to transfer property
Some US dollars are not at all remitted from China, an insider says. In some cases they are kickbacks from contracts or equipment purchase with the US side. They are usually not remitted back to China, but put into the bank or transferred into real estate such as houses. In other cases the condition is to send their children to US schools.
Besides, in recent years the Chinese government adopted export tax refund policy to encourage export. Some people seize the opportunity by reducing commodity prices or writing a sum on the check lower than that of real sum to cheat for refunds and at the same time, save the surplus overseas.
To attract foreign investment the Chinese government grants many preferential policies, but when foreign fund comes in much wealth also illegally flows out, many friendly Americans and patriotic Chinese sighed.
(People's Daily July 8, 2002)
