The history of Chinese migration to Colombia registers four key moments: The first refers to the ancestor century after Chinese migrants arrived in Panama (former Colombian province) for rough construction of the railway. The second refers to the relocation of a good number of them in cities such as Barranquilla and Buenaventura. The third moment is arranged by the Chinese government and its program of support in gastronomy activities, later constituting the traditional restaurants and small shops. However, as of the last ten years, there has been an increase in the population originating in China, to the extent that officials and top executives of transnational Chinese companies are established in the country.

This population arrives to live in Colombia for a period of at least four years, which is the maximum term legally allowed in the framework of the Pacific Alliance for business visas according to Law 834 of 2013. However, it is worth noting that upon expiration of this term it is possible to request an extension of the visa.

The hiring of Chinese by companies from that country recently installed in national territory is growing. These are industries particularly in the oil area, such as Sinopec; KeruiGroup, specialized in oil well drilling and pipelines, and Sinochen, petrochemical company; of telecommunications, such as Huawei and ZTE; from the automotive industry such as Cinascar, and from the lumber industry, such as Amboo, specialized in the management of bamboo. A large number of infrastructure programs – specifically roads, airports, ports, and infrastructure related to oil exploration and exploitation – undertaken in recent years are associated with the arrival of Chinese companies. This is the case of the conglomerate Capital Airport Holding, which manages through Airplan the airports in the cities of Medellín, Rionegro, Carepa, Montería, Corozal and Quibdó.

Characterization and typology of Chinese organizations

The existing organizations in Colombia discriminated according to their nature and functions in five types, namely: 1) associations of the Chinese immigrant community: the Organization of the China Colony in Colombia, the Association of Companies with Chinese Investments in Colombia and the Organization of the Overseas Chinese in Latin America; 2) entities created on the initiative of the Chinese government: “Confucius” classrooms and “Confucius” institutes; 3) cultural and academic entities created by Chinese and Colombians: China Center and the Colombo-China Alliance; 4) Colombo-China Friendship Associations created by Colombians: Colombo-China Friendship Association and Organization for the Promotion of Colombo-Chinese Relations, and 5) Binational Chambers of Commerce created at the initiative of Colombian and Chinese businessmen: Chamber of Commerce and Colombo-China Integration and Colombo-China Chamber of Commerce and Investment.

One of the chambers of commerce develops cultural activities, as well as the majority also carries out academic and educational activities, and in their entirety they develop social activities. However, attention should be drawn to the fact that organizations made up of a purely Chinese population are characterized by two factors: the development of solidarity activities that benefit not only the Chinese community, but also Colombia and, on the other hand, because their social activities are carried out in an inbred way.

To get an idea of ​​the great growth that the presence of Chinese companies has had in Colombia, it can be said that in less than two years they went from being twenty to seventy companies, and this number is expected to increase even more. The Colombian government, for its part, has decided to reduce taxes and grant hiring aid in order to encourage the entry of business representatives of the Asian giant.

SRS Colombia has trilingual Spanish-English-Mandarin consultants that serve this growing community with the kindness and professionalism that characterizes us.