By Xinhua writers Yang Dingdu, Wang Pan and Liu Wanli

    GUANGZHOU, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The starting point of an ancient trade route, Guangdong paralleled Egypt's Alexandria more than 1,500 years ago as the world's two terminals for trade between East and West. In its heyday in the 8th Century, an estimated 200,000 foreign nationals lived in the city.

    But with this profound history of external contact, why has the provincial capital of Guangzhou struggled to cope with foreign residents in modern times?

    The question has been raised by academics and law enforcers after a crowd of African expatriates surrounded a local police station in mid-July to protest a police operation during which several alleged African overstayers were injured while trying to flee.

    Huang Shiding, director of the Urban Management Institute of the Guangzhou Academy of Social Sciences, says Guangzhou had no experience to learn from other Chinese cities when it came to deal with overstayers and illegal immigrants.

    "We feel it has started to take in a great deal of foreign expatriates in recent years," Huang says.

    The influx, local officials recall, began in 2006 when Beijing Summit of the Forum on Sino-African Cooperation was held, during which President Hu Jintao hosted heads of state and senior officials from 48 African countries and signaled China's intention to deepen Sino-African relations.

    The unparalleled appeal of Guangzhou, compared to other Chinese cities, to African expatriates, they say, might be its prosperous wholesale markets for light products and small commodities manufactured in the Pearl River Delta.

    Every afternoon, around Xiaobei Road and Huanshi Road, many Africans can be seen shuttling among stores to hand-pick jeans, T-shirts and other garments, carrying huge black plastic bags or giant backpacks.

    Although Africa accounts for just 5 percent of Guangzhou's annual foreign trade, the city has several trading centers catering to African merchants, including the Sino-African Trading Center in Huangshi Road and the Tangqi Clothing Center in Sanyuanli.

    Also there are boutiques selling African attire, restaurants with African cuisine, vendors selling discount phone cards for African services and even barber shops with African hair stylists.

    Official statistics show about 20,000 Africans live in the city, but the real number, including illegal immigrants and overstayers, is believed to be much higher.

    Mo Lian, deputy director of the Division of Exit and Entry Administration under Guangdong Provincial Department of Public Security, says about 70 percent of the foreign nationals detained last year in illegal immigrant and overstayer were from Africa. In the first half of this year, the proportion was 77 percent.

    "Our investigations show many of these people had no intention of returning the moment they entered the city. This has caused a major problem in our management of foreign nationals," she says.

    Officials say many Africans come with tourist visas and insufficient cash to sustain their stay. Some manage to acquire visas through illegal agents. Others enter Guangdong with invitations issued by people from other provinces and engage in activities that have nothing to do with what the invitation described.

    Slack visa management in some countries fuels the problem, Mo says, as some overstayers who were blacklisted and repatriated reappear with new names and new passports.

    "No country's laws allow foreign nationals to overstay their tourist visas and seek illegal employment. In terms of foreign expatriate management, we treat all equally without discrimination," she says.     

    GROWING CHALLENGES

    But Mo admits that exit and entry administration has evolved into a "noticeable problem" in the eastern coast where the economy is better developed and where foreign residents and temporary inhabitants are both on the rise.

    In Guangdong, the population of foreign residents stood at 57,793 and temporary inhabitants at 1.15 million in the first half of this year. Moreover, 30.4 percent, or 6.15 million, of foreigners enter or leave China through Guangdong ports.

    Liu Jingzhan, director of the judicial department of Dengfeng neighborhood, home to more than 3,000 foreign residents, says the difficulties they face often stem from language barriers, an unfamiliar culture and different legal framework.

    "Foreign expatriates and locals need to adapt to each other in many ways," Liu says.

    Nwaomu, a Nigerian in his 30s, has married a Chinese woman and set up his own stall in the Tangqi Clothing Center. Rain or shine, he goes to clothes factories in Shahe district at 6 a.m. to replenish stock, and then sends the goods to his brother in Nigeria where the prices are double. His brother then remits back his portion of the profits.

    Nwaomu admits that many Africans in Guangdong have overstayed their visas or purposely lost their passports. "Some do not want to go back even if the Chinese paid for their return ticket because they can make money here," he says.

    Another Nigerian, who trades in earrings, declines to give his name. Recalling his experiences in the United Kingdom, Kenya, Togoand Kuwait, he says China has a very good business environment and fewer limits.

    "There are some African overstayers doing business illegally, but there are also law-abiding Africans whose normal business should not be disrupted," he says.

    Many Africans working in Guangzhou worry that local Chinese might stereotype them as "unacceptable." The concern has some foundation.

    Zhan Jinfeng, a resident of Baiyun District, complains that some Africans like to jump the road guardrails, but shy away from zebra crossings. "We Chinese don't like to wear perfume as they do," he adds.

    Some taxi drivers admit trying to avoid African customers because they fear the foreign passengers will fail to pay the fare.

    Serious cases of drug trafficking, robbery and theft involving foreigners are constantly in the news.

    "We also dislike those overstayers who seek illegal jobs here, but there is nothing we can do," says Nwaomu.

    To make a remedy, many distribution centers, including the Tangqi Clothing Center, have signed agreements with African vendors, requiring them to assist local police in dealing with illegal immigrants and overstayers.

    Huang Zhiquan, director of the Yongping Police Station, in Baiyun District, says 42 criminal cases involving foreign perpetrators were reported in the area within his jurisdiction in 2007. Between January and August, however, only one was reported.

    Ouyang Jiangxuan, an official with the Foreign Affairs Office of Guangdong Province, thinks illegal immigrants and overstayers a"side-effect of globalization."

    "It is not unique either in Guangdong or China. Many developed countries and regions encounter similar problems. Our position is to encourage all legitimate business exchanges, learn from the experience of others and better protect the legitimate interests, lives and assets of foreign nationals," he says. Enditem

    (Che Xiaohui from Guangzhou also contributed to the reporting)