In this contribution, I shall consider the social perceptions of politics and economy related to the interdependences between Chinese migrants and local population in Mali. Such representations give a particular shape to a large number of identity constructions. In each specific context, the spaces and groups to which Malian and Chinese residents refer, highlight social representations of the two nation-states and societies, of their present relationships. Individual and collective strategies should then be analysed from a point of view stressing the links between economic rationalities and political constructions. © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2010.

Politics Nation state Local society Chinese migrations Mali globalization identities

international migration perception migration determinant Asian immigrant nation state identity construction globalization Malia Mali