Beijing is tightening its grip on foreign influence in Chinese life with revision of foreign school names, mandatory location disclosure online and more. finews.asia reviews the recent changes faced by internationalized mainland Chinese.

Mainland Chinese accustomed to international lifestyles are facing sweeping changes both within and outside of the country.

Chinese authorities are increasingly curbing foreign influence in various facets of life ranging from education to the use of technology.

International Schooling

One of the most evident changes in recent times has been increased control of international education within mainland China.

Following the overhaul of the education tech sector last year with a ban against tutoring firms teaching school curriculum from making profits, raising capital or going public, the focus shifted to schools for dual nationals and bilingual institutions, which account for around one-fifth of China’s 15,000 private primary and secondary schools. 

Visa applications for foreign teachers have been tightened while some local bilingual schools have faced state takeovers. In Shanghai, bilingual primary and middle schools are now required to use the same textbooks as state schools when teaching Chinese literature, politics, history and geography; teach Xi Jinping thought from the third grade once a week; and seek approval for the use of foreign texts.

«Private bilingual schools are a part of the national education system and must be subject to regulation,» an anonymous director at a leading Shanghai bilingual school told «Financial Times» late last year. «If the government wants us to play down English language education, we will have no choice but to follow the order.

450-Year Legacy

New rules in the education sector are not only limited to content or operations with restrictions placed even on the names of schools. 

The most notable example was the storied 450-year-old British institution Harrow's decision to drop its prestigious brand from its Beijing bilingual school to comply with national regulations that ban the use of foreign names as well as words like «international» or «global».

Corporate Life

Extending beyond family life to corporate life, the reduction of foreign influence is also being felt. 

Earlier this month, central government agencies and state-backed firms were ordered to replace personal computers with foreign brands with domestic alternatives that use locally developed operating software within two years, according to a «Bloomberg» report citing unnamed sources. At least 50 million PCs are expected to be supplanted at the central-government level alone.

Foreign presence is also being impacted in the financial sector. As of May 12, China halted the reporting of daily bond trades by overseas investors, according to a «Reuters» report citing unnamed sources, limiting data access to onshore institutional clients. The change follows a sharp recent reduction in Chinese bond exposure by foreign investors with holdings in Chinese sovereign debt dropping at the steepest rates since August 2015.

Overseas Chinese

Even Chinese outside of the mainland are not immune to lifestyle changes.

Firstly, leaving the country is now more difficult after China’s immigration agency announced that it would «strictly limit» unnecessary overseas travels by Chinese citizens to minimize Covid risks while permitting cross-border movement for urgent matters such as study, scientific research, trade and businesses and medical issues. Authorities also denied rumors that passport issuances were being halted and residency cards for living in foreign countries were being invalidated.

And even upon leaving, many abroad will remain more connected than ever to China due to changes in tech platforms. Last month, social media giant Weibo announced that it would start publishing the locations of users’ account pages and when they post comments in an effort to combat «bad behavior» online. The function, which cannot be turned off, will display the province or municipality of users in China and IP addresses of overseas users. 

Global Chinese Outlook

There are profound implications from the changes to restrict foreign influence in China. If sufficiently effective, Chinese citizens could undergo a series of far-reaching behavioral changes.

Better and cheaper capabilities could drive increased retail adoption of local technology. Continued socioeconomic ascent without foreign schooling could lead to the championing of local education – Beijing’s prestigious Renmin University of China and other institutions reportedly withdrew from participating in international university rankings to reject foreign standards.  

And the implications could even affect the financial sector. Greater preference to permanently establish life in China could discourage the offshoring of assets or investments – a key source of business for global financial institutions across the board.

While it remains to be seen what the real socioeconomic or cultural impact will be from curbing foreign influence, what is probably unlikely is an unchanged status quo.