Even though there'd been lengthy discussions about this in the Winter Olympics thread already, I think it bears pointing out that Eileen Gu is not a Chinese citizen, as she was not born in China.
She's a Chinese national, as inherited from her mother who was born in Beijing. So her mother is a Chinese citizen, but not Eileen herself, who is a US citizen for having been born in the US.
Another way to make sense of this distinction - All citizens are nationals, but not all nationals are citizens.
Generally speaking you are not a citizen if you were born in a different country, unless by naturalisation. So for Eileen to become a Chinese citizen she'd have to settle in China continuously for a number of years, say, 7 years, before she can apply to become one.
As for the matter of dual citizenship/nationality in China, Chinese immigration laws do not recognise dual nationality. The laws DO NOT explicitly require foreign nationals to renounce their foreign nationalities in order to become Chinese nationals.
What it means in practice for Eileen is that if she chooses to exercise her status as a Chinese national, even though she's also a US citizen, whenever she steps foot into China and presents her Chinese passport, Chinese immigration would simply ignore/disregard her American citizenship.
So as long as she's on Chinese soil, she would be treated the same as any Chinese citizen/national, meaning she can keep her US citizen status and US passport all she wants, but she cannot seek consular services or diplomatic protection from the American embassies in China, as her American citizenship is effectively "lost"/null in the eyes of Chinese law.
All that is to say, this whole concept of "renouncing" foreign citizenship/nationality vis-a-vis Chinese citizenship/nationality is a general misconception.
It is true you can renounce your foreign citizenship proper, as is often the case with people not wanting to be taxed twice from incomes earned for having multiple nationalities, but in China's case it is entirely voluntary and not a rule. The only rule, to reiterate, is that if you're a Chinese national, you shall be treated as such.
She's a Chinese national, as inherited from her mother who was born in Beijing. So her mother is a Chinese citizen, but not Eileen herself, who is a US citizen for having been born in the US.
Another way to make sense of this distinction - All citizens are nationals, but not all nationals are citizens.
Generally speaking you are not a citizen if you were born in a different country, unless by naturalisation. So for Eileen to become a Chinese citizen she'd have to settle in China continuously for a number of years, say, 7 years, before she can apply to become one.
As for the matter of dual citizenship/nationality in China, Chinese immigration laws do not recognise dual nationality. The laws DO NOT explicitly require foreign nationals to renounce their foreign nationalities in order to become Chinese nationals.
What it means in practice for Eileen is that if she chooses to exercise her status as a Chinese national, even though she's also a US citizen, whenever she steps foot into China and presents her Chinese passport, Chinese immigration would simply ignore/disregard her American citizenship.
So as long as she's on Chinese soil, she would be treated the same as any Chinese citizen/national, meaning she can keep her US citizen status and US passport all she wants, but she cannot seek consular services or diplomatic protection from the American embassies in China, as her American citizenship is effectively "lost"/null in the eyes of Chinese law.
All that is to say, this whole concept of "renouncing" foreign citizenship/nationality vis-a-vis Chinese citizenship/nationality is a general misconception.
It is true you can renounce your foreign citizenship proper, as is often the case with people not wanting to be taxed twice from incomes earned for having multiple nationalities, but in China's case it is entirely voluntary and not a rule. The only rule, to reiterate, is that if you're a Chinese national, you shall be treated as such.
