As many as 1,000 Chinese residents from Zhejiang province are believed to be sheltering in Ukraine as Russian forces bombard the country’s cities with missiles.
Chinese media have reported there are 34 enterprises in Ukraine run by entrepreneurs from Zhejiang province.
They reportedly moved to Ukraine to buy properties cheaply, according to a Yahoo Taiwan report, which cited a Zhejiang media outlet, Tencent News Jihan.
A resident was quoted as saying that houses prices in Kyiv dropped 30-40% in the lead-up to the war.
More than 3,000 Chinese citizens – about half the total in the country – have been evacuated from Ukraine to neighbouring countries, according to China’s foreign ministry.
“Currently, Chinese citizens in various regions of Ukraine are being transferred to and evacuated from neighbouring countries in a safe and orderly manner,” a spokesman said.
The Hong Kong-based Bastille Post newspaper quoted a Zhejiang businesswoman in Odesa as saying she planned to remain in the southern Ukraine port city despite the war.
“For now, it’s relatively safe here,” Chen Xiuxiu said. She is the business manager of Taizhou Jiamei Import & Export, which sells children’s shoes.
If there was an emergency, she would go to the basement with other Chinese residents to hide. “While the situation is uncertain, we hope for peace.”
- George Russell
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