If China, which doesn’t recognize dual nationality, can’t keep entrepreneurs and middle-class families from leaving, it risks endangering its economic future. That includes people like Joey, a 30-year-old Beijing resident who works for a major Chinese state-owned conglomerate. He shared his story on the condition that his last name not be used because he hadn’t told his employer of his plans.
Joey and his fiancee have a two-bedroom apartment and plan to get married and have a child in China. Despite their seemingly bright future, they want to raise that child elsewhere. His friends and relatives helped him move enough money offshore to invest in the American EB-5 program.
Joey says he’s seen parents and children struggling to breathe outside in China’s smoggy air, and signs that China’s economy is headed for deeper trouble.
“In China, you have to plan ahead,” Joey said. “You cannot just leave today, whenever you want. You never know what happens next.”
