{"id":476843,"date":"2025-10-05T22:50:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-05T22:50:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/476843\/"},"modified":"2025-10-05T22:50:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-05T22:50:12","slug":"reverse-brain-drain-whats-drawing-chinese-researchers-back-from-the-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/476843\/","title":{"rendered":"Reverse brain drain: What\u2019s drawing Chinese researchers back from the US?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Another Chinese mathematician, Zhang Yitang, left the University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara) to join Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou.<\/p>\n

Zhang has openly shared his feelings about returning home \u201cin light of recent international political issues that have strained China-US relations\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany Chinese scholars and professors in the US have already returned, and many others are still considering it,\u201d Zhang said in an interview with Chinese broadcaster Phoenix TV, describing it as \u201ca positive trend\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy field (mathematics) has not been greatly affected, but Chinese researchers in computers, chips or anything related to the military need to be especially careful,\u201d Liu said, adding that the US was especially \u201cstrict about these areas now\u201d.<\/p>\n

Chinese AI expert Fu Tianfan, who studied and worked in the US for several years, announced that he was leaving a promising academic career in Troy, New York to return to China.<\/p>\n

Fu joined Nanjing University\u2019s prestigious School of Computer Science in December 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cNanjing University combines a rich cultural heritage with strong leadership in the natural sciences. Its broad strengths in basic science offer fertile ground for my research in applying artificial intelligence to accelerate scientific discovery,\u201d he told SCMP in an interview upon his return to China.<\/p>\n

ASIA\u2019S REVERSE BRAIN DRAIN<\/p>\n

Since Trump\u2019s return to the White House, Chinese academics and international students in the US have faced sharper scrutiny and increasing hurdles like a previous plan to revoke Chinese student visas<\/a>, which stoked fear and anxiety among Chinese students across US campuses, prompting many to rethink where to build their lives and early careers.<\/p>\n

Returning Chinese intellectuals would \u201cbring back not only tech and expertise but also international credibility and networks, potentially enhancing China\u2019s bid to lead in tech\u201d, said Asia Society\u2019s Lee.<\/p>\n

She also noted that China is \u201cpositioning itself\u201d as the world\u2019s largest laboratory for new technology.<\/p>\n

The \u201cscale of government-led research and development initiatives and investment, speed of implementation and the advancements especially in applied research\u201d are all big draws for those looking to leave the US, Lee said.<\/p>\n

Significant losses for the US would be felt most in sectors like computer science, life sciences, and advanced manufacturing, Lee added, fields dominated by Chinese-born researchers and engineers.<\/p>\n

Experts said Singapore and other countries in Asia stand to benefit from the reverse talent drain.<\/p>\n

\u201cResearch institutions in these regions are already among the world\u2019s top universities and their existing national contexts are largely neutral or at least less polarised than in the West, making them conducive environments for scientific research and advancement,\u201d said SMU\u2019s Lim.<\/p>\n

Writing in a CNA commentary on Oct 1, Chua Yeow Hwee, an assistant economics professor at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), also deputy director of NTU\u2019s Economic Growth Centre, noted how changing rules and environments are \u201creshaping the choices of firms and workers\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor professionals, it alters expectations about which countries offer security and long-term opportunity,\u201d Chua said, adding that \u201cthe real contest was not about offering the highest salaries or the largest markets – it was about trust\u201d.<\/p>\n

Countries are also \u201cinnovating with faster approvals and new pathways, and the race for talent is intensifying\u201d, Chua added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Another Chinese mathematician, Zhang Yitang, left the University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara) to join Sun…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":476844,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5311],"tags":[26406,1395,2266,49,978,659],"class_list":{"0":"post-476843","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"tag-brain-drain","9":"tag-china","10":"tag-education","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-us","13":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115324008960804829","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=476843"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476843\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/476844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=476843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=476843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=476843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}