Americans in China


Americans in China are expatriates and immigrants from the United States as well as their locally born descendants. Estimates range from 72,000 to 110,000.

Estimated number in China

In 2005, the number of Americans living in China reached a historic high of 110,000. Most expatriates living in China come from neighboring Asian nations. An estimate published in 2018 counted 600,000 people of other nations living in China, with 12% of those from the US; that means approximately 72,000 Americans living in China.
Based on data collected in 1999, when 64,602 Americans lived in China, most lived in Hong Kong, with smaller numbers in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang and Chengdu.

Hong Kong

Since the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong, Americans have arguably surpassed the British as the major non-Chinese influence. There are more Americans than Britons living in the territory, and 1,100 American companies employ 10% of the Hong Kong workforce; the current head of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, Eden Woon, is the first American to hold the position in the territory's history. In addition, ships of the United States Navy made from 60 to 80 port visits each year, reported in 1998.

Mainland China

According to the Sixth National Population Census of the People's Republic of China conducted in 2010, there are 71,493 Americans residing in Mainland China, the second largest single group of foreign nationals behind Koreans in China. Americans have been coming to China for job opportunities since 1994. In the late 2000s and early 2010s, a growing number of Americans in their 20s and 30s headed to China for employment, lured by its faster-growing economy and good pay in the financial sector. Many of them teach English, a service in demand from Chinese businesspeople and students and a growing number are arriving with skills and experience in computers, finance and other fields.

Institutions

American diplomatic missions in Mainland China:
The Consulate General of the United States, Hong Kong and Macau serves Hong Kong and Macau.

Education

American international schools in Mainland China:
American international schools in Hong Kong: