A waterproof bag is drawn through the Tumen River; a motorcycle carries smartphones through the Sino-Myanmar jungle. Both transactions constitute informal border mobility. Although illegal, the local border economy depends on these forms of exchange. Oftentimes, local authorities and security agents turn a blind eye to such small offences, either because they themselves benefit from these actions or because they see the larger benefit for the local economy. While some officials connive, others develop strategies aiming to contest these informal practices or work to adapt laws according to local realities.

This chapter focuses on sub-national effects of the ‘zoning activities’ of the Chinese border regime. By analysing local practices of issuing permits for residence, work, and marriage, I show how legality becomes a selective, conditional, and locally bound privilege. Legal and ‘illegal’ immigrants become peripheralized and ultimately remain in an insecure state. The Chinese border regime produces different legal ‘zones of exception’ by creating ‘special border passes’ that both specify legal jurisdiction over immigrants and differentiate territorial authority. In the end, local authorities determine what constitutes legality as they selectively and gradually legalize some foreigners while leaving others in a legal limbo. Table 8 lists local policy implementation measures and their goals according to different target groups: border communities generally, cross-border marriages or ‘foreign wives’, border trade, and immigrant workers.