Homogeny curbs 'global city' reputation

How far has Beijing come on the road to becoming a truly international city, like London, Tokyo or New York? That's the question the 11th Beijing Municipal Congress of the Communist Party of China's Committee has been pondering, and doubtless there is much to indicate that the city has progressed in many of the criteria one would judge such a thing.

Having hosted the 2008 Olympics and other sporting events, as well as developing the arts, Beijing can lay claim to building up the cultural pedigree one associates with an international city, although there is of course always room for improvement.

Economically, this expanding metropolis is branching out, perhaps not quite in the same league as rival sibling Shanghai, but certainly on the way.

Politically, Beijing is solidifying its position as a top dog city when anyone in the world thinks of centers of power. In relation to infrastructure, I am happy to say that this year I shall be enjoying the added convenience of an additional subway line, much closer than the existing one, along with many residents in formerly unconnected neighborhoods.

The city expands ever upwards, and it has all the amenities one would need to create a cosmopolitan setting. However, there is one criterion that sets Beijing apart from other international cities: population.

Certainly, there is a large international community in the city, and foreigners are very much visible. But this population is much more transitory than those in other cities. There are even foreigners, like myself, who have been here more than a few years, but there is a distinct lack of permanence in the air.

Aside from those married to Chinese nationals, the city does not have the clusters of ethnic communities one would associate with international cities throughout the world. Cities like London, New York and Paris have extensive communities of non-indigenous groups, but this is not the case here.

Ironically, one of the most identifiable images of an international city is having a decent-sized Chinatown. The presence of a large area that is totally Chinese in these cities is associated with the exotic otherness of the international city.

I spent some time in a formerly Irish part of Brooklyn as a student, and I noticed how this borough was being transformed into a Chinese area. In fact, the idea of large groups of Chinese moving into a large urban area seems like one of the most natural things in the world. And indeed, for many Chinese I have talked to, the idea of a city like Vancouver in Canada, which has a large Chinese population, is perfectly normal and natural.

But when I suggest the idea of a major Chinese city with an equally large percentage of the population made up by some long-term, residential, non-national diaspora, the idea sounds strange and frightening.

The question isn't whether or not Beijing could develop into a truly international city, but rather whether or not Beijing would actually want to become that kind of place.