Proactivity and Reactivity: Study on China’s Skilled Migration Policies

Immigration policy is an important tool for the government to manage immigration. The structural forces at the national level shape the pattern and characteristics of migration. There are two types of immigration policies, proactivity and reactivity, based on the effect of policy and the government’s role in policy making. As an important hub of global immigration order, China’s innovative economic development and the construction of “the Belt and Road” inevitably require the establishment and improvement of immigration policies. With the intensification of global talent competition, talent attraction has become the main goal of immigration policies. Developed countries have formed three different policy models for skilled migrants: supply driven, demand driven and hybrid selection. From the government’s role in policy making and implementation, the combination of proactive and reactive policy measures will be more conducive to the accumulation of human resources and meet the needs of the labor market.