US-Born Sisters in Shanghai Face Deportation as Passports Expire
Two US-born girls in Shanghai face deportation after their mother's death and passport expiry. Their 81-year-old grandfather seeks guardianship amid financial strain and legal hurdles; a 2026 intentional guardianship policy may offer hope.
Tags:
Source: OT-Team(G), 案件聚焦
With their mother gone, a foreign girl's passport expiring in days, and no father identified, her grandfather races to secure their future in China.
In late autumn 2024, outside a primary school in Shanghai, a 10-year-old girl—identified here as Duoduo—clutched the sleeve of her 81-year-old grandfather, her face marked by anxiety. Her U.S. passport was set to expire in three days. Her mother had passed away six months earlier, and the identity of her biological father remained unknown. What followed was a deeply complex legal and human dilemma: who could—and should—become her legal guardian?
The case, heard by a court in Shanghai's Xuhui District, has brought attention to the challenges surrounding guardianship, cross-border identity, and elder care in China.
A Legal Vacuum After a Mother's Death
In September 2024, Ms. Wang died after a prolonged illness, leaving behind two daughters born in 2015 and 2017. Both children were born in the United States and hold U.S. citizenship, but had lived in Shanghai with their mother and maternal grandfather since infancy.
With their mother's passing, an urgent issue arose: their passports were nearing expiration. Under relevant regulations, passport renewal requires the consent and involvement of a legal guardian. Without valid documentation, the children risked falling into irregular residency status, potentially facing deportation.
Complicating matters further, the children's father has never been identified. Ms. Wang had never disclosed his identity, and the father's name is absent from both girls' U.S. birth certificates.
With no surviving parent and no legally recognized guardian, the children were left in a precarious legal position.
An Elderly Grandfather Steps Forward
Desperate to secure stability for his granddaughters, Mr. Wang sought help from multiple channels. With support from local prosecutors, he eventually filed a petition with the court to be appointed as their legal guardian.
Yet his situation raises difficult questions. At 81, Mr. Wang himself requires care. He receives a monthly pension of around RMB 10,000 (approximately USD 1,400), but pays RMB 6,800 in rent. The girls' tuition alone reaches RMB 80,000 per semester.
Financial strain has been compounded by debts left behind by his late daughter, which forced him to sell his only property in Shanghai. With savings depleted, he now relies partly on loans from friends and relatives.
"I keep asking myself," he said, "after I'm gone, who will take care of them?"
Limited Options Under Current Law
Mr. Wang explored the possibility of sending the children to relatives abroad. However, legal experts note that such arrangements are difficult to formalize under current judicial frameworks—especially when prospective caregivers are unwilling to assume full legal guardianship.
Chinese law also imposes constraints on future planning. Under the Civil Code, only parents are permitted to designate a backup guardian for their minor children through a will. As a grandparent, Mr. Wang does not have this legal authority.
Legal professionals and notary officials have suggested alternative solutions, including entrusting guardianship responsibilities to social organizations specializing in child welfare, with oversight from government departments such as civil affairs authorities.
A Parallel Concern: Who Will Care for the Caregiver?
The case also highlights a lesser-discussed issue: guardianship for the elderly themselves.
Mr. Wang had initially planned to move into a nursing home after settling his granddaughters' situation. However, local officials informed him that admission to such facilities typically requires the resident to have a designated guardian—someone who can make decisions in case of medical emergencies or loss of capacity.
Repeated visits from prosecutors and social workers introduced Mr. Wang to the concept of "intentional guardianship," a legal mechanism that allows individuals to appoint a trusted person in advance to act on their behalf should they lose decision-making capacity.
"I realize now I need someone I can rely on," Mr. Wang said. "Someone who can take over—for me, and for the children."
Policy Developments Offer New Tools
On January 1, 2026, Shanghai introduced trial guidelines to promote the implementation of intentional guardianship for the elderly. The policy provides clearer procedures for appointing guardians and outlines coordination between personal arrangements and public guardianship systems.
In practical terms, intentional guardianship allows a competent adult to designate a trusted individual through a notarized agreement. This person can later make decisions regarding finances, healthcare, and daily care if the individual becomes incapacitated.
"It's essentially a preventive legal arrangement," explained a prosecutor involved in the case. "Without a guardian, many essential matters—from school enrollment to medical decisions—can become impossible to process."
An Unresolved Future
After the Spring Festival, prosecutors revisited Mr. Wang's home. The children had returned to school, and he continued his search for someone willing to take on long-term responsibility.
"As long as it's in the children's best interest, I'll do everything I can," he said.
Authorities have indicated that they will continue to support the family, aiming to ensure that both the children's immediate needs and their long-term welfare are secured.
For now, the case remains a poignant illustration of how gaps in family structure, legal frameworks, and social support systems can converge—leaving the most vulnerable navigating uncertainty.
China's 15th Five-Year Plan ： Key Changes for International Business
China's 15th Five-Year Plan: 4.5%-5% GDP target, tech self-reliance push, and STEM talent focus. CEIBS analysis explores implications for international businesses amid policy shifts and uncertainties.
Tags:
As China's Two Sessions conclude and the country's 15th Five-Year Plan comes into focus, what does the country's new development blueprint signal for businesses and investors?
In this article, CEIBS Associate Professor of Management Practice and Deputy Director of Global MiM CEIBS (Switzerland)-ESCP Double Degree Programme Majid Ghorbani examines the key continuities and shifts in the plan, and explores what they reveal about China's pursuit of high-quality growth in the years ahead.
01
Introduction
The most recent session of China's National People's Congress (NPC) and its formal approval of the country's 15th Five Year Plan reaffirmed the central role of these plans in shaping national priorities and guiding the allocation of public resources. Beyond outlining the government's administrative agenda, Five-Year Plans influence the flow of public funds, bank lending, and regulatory support across all levels of the economy. They also create a policy environment that encourages private firms, research institutes, universities, and foreign enterprises to align their strategies with national objectives.
As such, these Plans function not merely as bureaucratic blueprints but as signals of China's evolving developmental trajectory. While many themes persist across consecutive plans, each new one marks the continuation, adjustment, or conclusion of earlier priorities and introduces new areas of emphasis. This article highlights the major continuities and shifts within the 15th Five-Year Plan and assesses the implications for both international and domestic enterprises.
02
Major Continuities: What has stayed the same?
Economic Growth and Social Wellbeing
The Plan reaffirms China's commitment to stable economic development, targeting 4.5%–5% GDP growth alongside improvements in social welfare and living standards. The plan continues to emphasise the construction of a "harmonious civilisation" through urbanisation, public service expansion, and social governance reforms.
Environmental Sustainability and Carbon Reduction
Environmental sustainability remains a central pillar. The plan reiterates China's long term goals for reducing carbon emissions per unit of GDP and expanding green energy capacity. Although the targets are ambitious, the absence of a clear pathway for phasing out coal underscores the tension between economic security and environmental responsibility.
Central Role of the Party in Governance
The Plan maintains the Party's central role in steering economic and social development. This includes strengthening policy coordination, enhancing regulatory oversight, and ensuring ideological alignment across institutions and industries.
Reform and Opening Up
Despite rising geopolitical tensions, the plan reiterates China's stated commitment to reform and opening up. Notable initiatives include more accommodative monetary policies, pilot programmes for foreign owned hospitals, and expanded access for foreign investment in value added biotechnology and telecommunications. While these reforms may initially benefit higher income groups, the long term diffusion of advanced technologies could lead to broader societal benefits.
03
Significant Shifts: What has changed?
Technological Self-reliance and Strategic Resilience
The most pronounced shift in the Plan is the renewed emphasis on technological self-reliance. Key sectors—advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, green energy, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and low altitude aviation—are prioritised for accelerated development. Although the plan encourages international collaboration and foreign investment, the overarching objective is to reduce dependence on foreign technologies and mitigate vulnerabilities to sanctions or supply chain disruptions.
Changing Composition of Expatriate Talent
Following the pandemic induced decline in foreign visitors and residents, China has eased visa requirements and expanded visa free entry for many nationalities. Tourist and business travel rebounded to pre pandemic levels in 2025, yet the expatriate population has not fully recovered. The new Plan suggests a shift in the types of foreign talent China seeks to attract fewer Western executives in senior management roles and more technical specialists in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields, particularly AI, quantum computing, telecommunications, aerospace, and biotechnology.
Reframing the Double Circulation Strategy
The concept of double circulation—strengthening domestic demand while integrating with global markets—was a major theme of the 14th Five-Year Plan. In the new Plan, this emphasis is noticeably reduced and reframed. The government now stresses innovation driven upgrading rather than relying on low cost production for domestic and international markets. This shift responds to the destructive competition (neijuan, 内卷) that emerged as firms competed primarily on cost, often leading to oversupply and the export of low quality goods. The new Plan signals a desire to move Chinese enterprises up the value chain and compete globally on quality and technological sophistication rather than price alone.
04
Areas of Ambiguity and Policy Gaps
Innovation Targets Without Clear Implementation Pathways
Although the Plan calls for a 7.1% increase in science and technology investment, it remains vague on how innovation will be translated into industrial upgrading. The pursuit of technological self reliance may risk isolating China from global knowledge networks, potentially slowing the diffusion of cutting edge research into commercial applications. Moreover, the transition from scientific discovery to high quality production is not automatic and requires institutional mechanisms that the FYP does not fully articulate.
A more effective innovation ecosystem would require stronger collaboration between the public and private sectors, including coordinated research agendas, shared testing facilities, and joint commercialisation platforms. China's universities and research institutes already play a central role in basic research, but deeper integration with enterprises—through co funded laboratories, joint doctoral training, and industry embedded research teams—would help accelerate the translation of scientific advances into marketable technologies.
China's innovation capacity would also benefit from greater internationalisation of education, research, and knowledge creation. Expanding joint research programmes with foreign universities, establishing cross border innovation hubs, and developing dual degree or joint degree programmes at all tertiary levels would strengthen China's participation in global scientific networks and mitigate the risks of technological isolation.
Industrial Policies to Curb Low Quality Exports
To address destructive competition and improve global competitiveness, China could consider restricting the export of low quality goods priced below market levels. Similar policies have been implemented in the construction sector, where below cost bidding and substandard materials were penalized. Extending such measures to manufacturing could incentivise firms to improve product quality and reduce the proliferation of ultra low cost exports.
Talent and Residency Policy Gaps
The shift toward attracting more technical specialists in STEM fields highlights the need for reforms to expatriate and international student residency policies. Current rules require visas and residency permits to expire immediately upon the end of employment or study, leaving no transition period. Granting a grace period of several months to one year would help retain skilled individuals and facilitate their absorption into domestic enterprises and research institutions. Moreover, implementing policies that facilitate spousal employment and provide children with access to affordable education and work permits can entice more expatriates to move to China and foster a sense of loyalty to their new "home".
Environmental Commitments and Geopolitical Uncertainty
The 15th Five-Year Plan pledges a cumulative 17% reduction in carbon intensity, reinforcing China's role as the world's largest investor in green energy. However, coal remains the dominant energy source, and the plan does not outline a clear phase out strategy. With the United States and several European countries scaling back their climate commitments, international attention is focused on whether China will maintain its targets—especially amid geopolitical shocks such as the recent US–Israel conflict with Iran and disruptions to Persian Gulf energy exports. These developments raise questions about whether China might revert to expanding coal fired power generation to ensure energy security.
Fiscal and Monetary Constraints
The plan offers limited clarity on fiscal and monetary reforms. Persistent capital flow controls and restrictions on cross border financial transactions remain major obstacles for foreign investors. China's ambition to internationalise the renminbi and reduce reliance on the US dollar is constrained by current monetary policies, and the Plan provides little indication of imminent change. Given the downturn in the domestic real estate market and rising taxes on foreign asset ownership abroad, new investment channels will be essential for China's transition to an advanced economy.
05
Conclusion
The 15th Five-Year Plan overall presents a coherent strategy for sustaining China's economic growth at 4.5%–5%, strengthening domestic consumption, and upgrading industrial capabilities. While these Plans are inherently high level documents and do not specify implementation mechanisms, the new plan outlines a vision for a more innovative, resilient, and environmentally conscious China.
Its success will depend on the government's ability to balance self reliance with openness, maintain environmental commitments amid geopolitical uncertainty, and create institutional conditions that support high quality growth. If effectively implemented, the Plan has the potential to deliver meaningful benefits for China and contribute positively to global economic development.
Recommended Reading
Two Sessions: Prof. Xu Bin on business insights & opportunities |
Fast lanes, big gains: The economic power of sporting events as Shanghai hosts F1 |
TikTok & the US: Asymmetric partnering amid geopolitical tension |
Want to learn more about CEIBS programmes? Click 'Read more' below
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)