Superdiversity beyond the West: market-driven symbiosis and migrant adaptation in Yiwu, China

Superdiversity is a concept coined and developed in Western contexts to capture the emergent demographic complexity in westward mobility. However, it remains un(der)-analysed in migration in new and emerging geographies. The intent of this paper is not simply to outline the multidimensional nature of superdiversity in China, it also seeks to capture the dynamic interplay of local populations and migrants in a superdiverse context. Taking an ethnographic approach in the international trade city of Yiwu, China, I examine how trade migrants, local residents, educational institutions and government bodies coexist in a market-driven symbiosis – politically, economically, linguistically and socially. Drawing upon Fei Xiaotong’s indigenous sociological theory, I offer insights into the practices of a superdiverse trade community in a non-traditional migration destination outside the West and I also add complexity to the idea of ‘diversity’ itself by showing how it emerges through the interactions between trade migrants and local communities.