Chinese Scientists Leaving U.S. In Droves

Facing an increasingly suspicious research climate, a growing number of Chinese scientists are leaving the US for positions abroad, the latest indicator of how worsening US-China relations are complicating academic collaboration and could hamstring Washington’s tech ambitions, Christina Lu and Anusha Rathi reported for Foreign Policy.

Photo Insert: The Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Between 2010 and 2021, the number of Chinese scientists leaving the United States has steadily increased, according to new research published last month. If the trend continues, experts warn that the brain drain could deal a major blow to US research efforts in the long run.

“It’s absolutely devastating,” said David Bier, the associate director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute.

“So many of the researchers that the US depends on in [the] advanced technology field are from China, or are foreign students, and this phenomenon is certainly going to negatively impact US firms and US research going forward.”

From semiconductor chips to artificial intelligence, technology has been at the forefront of US-China competition, with both Washington and Beijing maneuvering to strangle each other’s sectors.

Cooperation, even in key sectors like combating climate change, has been rare.

From 2010 to 2021, the number of scientists of Chinese descent who left the US for another country has surged from 900 to 2,621, with scientists leaving at an expedited rate between 2018 and 2021, according to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Nearly half of this group moved to China and Hong Kong in 2010, the study said, and a growing percentage of Chinese scientists have relocated to China over the years.

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic