As the Chinese regime becomes ever more authoritarian under the leadership of Xi Jinping, Chinese nationals critical of his policies have come under increasing threat.
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There have been two major destinations with two major journeys: one towards the US is the dangerous Darien Gap, and another into the EU through the Balkan corridor. With the closing of the Darien route, even more turn towards the EU and the Balkans.
Reasons to Leave China: Unemployment and Surveillance
Since [Xi Jinping became the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party -CCP- and thus China’s president in 2012], his increasingly hawkish leadership has expanded surveillance, which became especially extensive during the lockdowns implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The lockdowns created a sense that ordinary people who were just living their lives could somehow find themselves under heavy observation of the state or subjected to long arbitrary periods of lockdown and confinement,” says David Stroup, a lecturer of Chinese politics at the University of Manchester. He, like many other experts, argues that the repressive political climate, a worsening economy, and invasive surveillance all contribute to the new trend. Online, the term “runxue” became code for emigrating due to these issues.
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Even after leaving, many Chinese migrants are scared to detail their lives, use their names, or seek help from Chinese embassies out of fear that their families back home would suffer the consequences of their ‘betrayal’ of the party.
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As wealthier Chinese emigrants can afford legal routes ...those with less money and fewer options take the illegal routes; to Europe, the most popular is the Western Balkans, flying into non-EU states with looser rules and crossing illegally into Croatia or Hungary.
Most attempt crossing through Bosnia and Herzegovina, which offers 90-day visa-free stays and shares a long border with Croatia. Serbia is also a popular stopover, offering 30 days visa-free but since recognizing the pattern of migrants utilizing the visa discrepancy with the EU’s policy, it has taken steps to counter it.
Frontex recorded 10 493 illegal crossings between January and October 2025 on the Western Balkan Route. The top five nationalities crossing were Turkish (3184), Syrian (1374), Afghan (1213), Egyptian (954), and Chinese (555). The number of Chinese nationals crossing is already higher than it was for the same period last year, when the spike was first observed, and is expected to rise further.
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