As mentioned in the course of the report, Chinese migration to our country is strongly linked to the theme of business and the data confirm this link, highlighting its leading role in this area. Third in terms of number of presences in Italy among citizens of non-EU countries, it is second in terms of the number of owners of sole proprietorships.
In fact, there are 52,534 owners of individual enterprises of Chinese origin as of 31 December 2020, or 13.4% of non-EU entrepreneurs in Italy, a number down 1.4% compared to 2019; in 2021 the negative trend continues, probably due to the pandemic and its heavy repercussions on the economic front.
The gender distribution of individual entrepreneurs belonging to the community confirms the great involvement of the female component in the labor market: women cover a share equal to 46.6% of company owners in the community.
In fact, China is the first country of origin for non-EU women who own businesses: 24,500 equal to 28.7% of the total. The analysis of the last two years highlights a homogeneous trend within the community: female businesses dropped by approximately 1.5%, compared with 1.4% for the number of entrepreneurs.
The regional distribution of businesses led by citizens born in China, in line with the distribution of the community on the territory, sees a concentration in the three regions of prevailing presence:
Tuscany, which absorbs 20.7% of the businesses in the community, is followed by Lombardy (20.4%), while Veneto is in third place (11%).
In particular, the provincial detail highlights the concentration in the provinces of Milan (11.2%), Prato (10.2%), Florence (7.6%), Rome (6.7%) and Naples (4.9%) ).
With reference to the sectors of economic activity, although the main investment sector of entrepreneurs born in China is - as for all non-EU citizens - Commerce with an incidence of about 36% (compared to 42.2% recorded for the total of non-EU entrepreneurs), the community is characterized by a strong presence in manufacturing: 33.6% of Chinese-owned companies operate in this area, representing over half (56.3%) of non-EU companies in the sector.
Source: "La Cominità Cinese in Itala - Rapporto annuale sulla presenza degli immigrati"