China is gaining In the race to attract the world’s
Hong Kong – The wave of American scientific talent moving to China is accelerating. Among them are a Princeton-trained nuclear physicist, a mechanical engineer who once collaborated with NASA on space manufacturing, a neurobiologist from the U.S. National Institutes of Health, renowned mathematicians, and more than half a dozen leading AI specialists.
This high-profile migration highlights China’s growing appeal to top-tier researchers and its expanding influence in global science and technology.
At least 85 American scientists-both emerging talents and established experts-have joined Chinese research institutions full-time since early last year, with over half relocating in 2025, according to a NewsFastTV count. Experts say this trend is set to grow as the White House moves to cut research funding and intensifies scrutiny of foreign researchers, while Beijing continues to ramp up investment in domestic innovation.
American Science
Many of these researchers are part of a growing “reverse brain drain,” prompting concerns about the United States’ long-term ability to attract and retain top international scientific talent-key factors that have helped maintain its position as the world’s leading hub for technology and science since the post-World War II era.
This shift could influence the strategic competition between Washington and Beijing to lead critical, future-defining industries, including artificial intelligence, quantum computing, semiconductors, biotechnology, and advanced military technologies.
Chinese Government
For years, the Chinese government has actively sought to attract top international scientific talent, including the thousands of Chinese researchers who studied abroad in the US and other countries, many of whom later became leaders and innovators in American science and technology.
This mission has grown even more urgent as the U.S. enforces strict technology controls on China, while Chinese President Xi Jinping views the nation’s innovation capabilities as essential for ensuring long-term economic security.
President Donald Trump
Now, with the U.S. government under President Donald Trump pursuing deep cuts to federal research funding, increasing oversight of scientific projects, sharply raising H-1B visa costs for specialized foreign workers, and using federal grants to influence universities, China’s mission to attract top talent is gaining momentum.
Chinese universities view recent shifts in the US as “a gift from Trump,” creating an opportunity to attract more high-caliber talent, according to Yu Xie, a Princeton University sociology professor who spoke to NewsFastTV during a visit to Chinese universities earlier this year.
“You will witness a rapid expansion of new, enhanced, and upgraded research and training programs across a wide range of fields in China,” Xie said.
A headhunter in eastern China, specializing in recruiting overseas technology experts for the commercial sector—including the semiconductor industry—told NewsFastTV that recent changes in the US could lead to a surge in applications for the government-backed funding program he manages.
While the U.S. Congress is expected to block some of the Trump administration’s most severe proposed cuts to research funding for the upcoming fiscal year, recent efforts to slash and restructure scientific programs-along with increased scrutiny of international students and researchers applying for visas-have already disrupted academic laboratories and created lasting uncertainty for scientists.
Chinese Students
Concerns are especially pronounced for researchers with connections to China, which has historically sent more science and engineering PhD students to the US than any other country. Earlier this year, the Trump administration leveraged visas for Chinese students as a trade negotiation tool.
In July, lawmakers pushed to reinstate the China Initiative-a highly controversial US national security program originally launched during Trump’s first term and later canceled amid concerns that it fostered suspicion and bias against academics of Chinese descent.
Party’s Official Newspaper
In recent years, China has attracted an increasing number of academics from the US and around the world, fueled by the country’s rising scientific capabilities and ambitions. Many of these recent initiatives were likely underway before Trump’s return to the White House. Yet, taken together, the current changes in the US may create an even greater opportunity for Chinese research institutions.
A recent editorial in the Communist Party’s official newspaper, the People’s Daily, highlighted how Beijing views this opportunity, portraying China as a “safe harbor” and a “platform to excel” for Chinese and Chinese American scholars facing what it called the “reckless interference” of certain Western countries.
‘Bending over backwards’
Inside China’s universities, much of the response is happening quietly behind the scenes, sources familiar with the matter told NewsFastTV, as institutions discreetly approach U.S. -based researchers to join their programs.
Lu Wuyuan, a protein chemist who left his tenured position at the University of Maryland to join Shanghai’s prestigious Fudan University in 2020, told NewsFastTV that he has observed a “noticeable surge in the number of job applicants from overseas.
Chinese Universities
I know Chinese universities are going out of their way to capitalize on this opportunity, viewing it as a gift from a ‘perceived’ adversary,” Lu said, noting that the return of overseas-educated scientists to China is already a “strong trend and perhaps an irreversible one.
Liu Jun, a chair professor of statistics at Beijing’s Tsinghua University who returned to China in 2024 for family reasons after retiring from Harvard, said the move was not part of a “systemic attempt” in response to U.S. changes. However, individual departments, including his own, “definitely seek to take advantage of these opportunities” by connecting with colleagues and leveraging conferences to highlight efforts to strengthen their programs.
Some of China’s recruitment efforts are visible online. Earlier this year, Wuhan University posted on social media inviting “talents from around the world” to apply for professorships.
The post highlighted a competitive pay structure, showing that researchers specializing in robotics, AI, or network security could earn the highest salaries from the university’s dedicated research funds, with a promise to match national grants of up to 3 million yuan (over $400,000).
These offers-which may include priority access to research funding, performance bonuses, housing allowances, and family support-are promoted annually by universities across China and are often linked to the central government’s program for “outstanding young talent” from abroad.
The program is part of China’s long-established network of grants and recruitment initiatives, regarded domestically as prestigious honors and, according to experts, often accessible to both local and overseas researchers.
Not all initiatives are centered on academia.
For instance, the Qiming program aims to attract top-tier researchers to China’s commercial technology sector, typically requiring applicants to hold doctoral degrees and possess international work experience, according to recruitment postings reviewed by NewsFastTV and interviews with two program recruiters.
One headhunter told NewsFastTV that professionals with semiconductor experience are a primary focus in Jiangsu Province , where the already robust chip-making industry faces pressure to innovate following U.S. restrictions on critical technology exports.
China’s Government Country
Since the U.S. has been creating bottlenecks, the focus is now on the integrated circuit sector. ” Talent in this field is in demand everywhere-there are no regional limits,” the headhunter told NewsFastTV. He noted that most of his recruits have come from Europe through his personal network and requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of his work.
In the coming year, attention may expand to include artificial intelligence and quantum science, especially in areas like quantum communication and precision measurement,” he added. China’s government is also broadening pathways for researchers to work in the country.
China’s Thousand Talents Program
The Qiming program conducted an additional intake over the summer exclusively targeting talent from the US and Europe, which the Jiangsu headhunter described as an “unprecedented” move.
Last month, officials announced a new visa category for young science and technology professionals called the “K visa,” set to take effect on October 1. In July, the National Natural Science Foundation also opened an extra round of applications for its research funding program for “outstanding young talent” from overseas, supplementing the regular annual intake at the start of the year
U.S. Scrutiny
For years, the U.S. government has viewed Chinese talent recruitment programs as a potential threat. The FBI has described these initiatives as part of efforts to acquire foreign technologies to benefit the Chinese government and military objectives.
China’s Thousand Talents Program-which experts note often involved professors taking part-time or research roles in China rather than fully relocating-was largely phased out in recent years after participants faced intense scrutiny in the U.S. , including under the controversial China Initiative.
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‘A nation thrives’
China’s ongoing efforts to attract and retain talent are further supported by its rapid economic growth and expanding capabilities in science and technology.
Lu, the protein chemist at Fudan University, has witnessed China’s transformation firsthand. He recalled that when he chose to pursue graduate studies in the U.S. in 1989, China was “poor, resource-strapped, and scientifically and technologically underdeveloped.”
“I would not have had the same opportunities to advance as an academic researcher had I remained in China at that time, and for that, I am forever grateful to my adopted country,” he said.
Much has changed in China over the past decades, as the nation’s economy expanded rapidly and the government significantly increased research and development spending. In 2023, China invested over $780 billion in R&D, compared with approximately $823 billion in the U.S. , according to the latest OECD data on gross domestic expenditure.
China’s Ambitious Space Program
A nation prospers when its science and technology prosper,” Chinese leader Xi Jinping told a gathering of academics, leading scientists, and senior officials in Beijing during a landmark speech last summer. Xi pledged that by 2035, China would emerge as a “strong” and self-reliant nation in science and technology.
These efforts are already yielding results. Last year, China’s ambitious space program returned the world’s first samples from the far side of the Moon .
The country is also leading advancements in areas such as renewable energy, quantum communications, and military technologies like hypersonic missiles. Earlier this year, the relatively unknown Chinese startup DeepSeek surprised Silicon Valley by launching a chatbot that it claimed could perform nearly on par with OpenAI’s GPT-3 model at a fraction of the cost.
Chinese Publishing
Today, Chinese scientists are publishing more research in top-tier natural and health sciences journals than their U.S. counterparts, according to the Nature Index. Meanwhile, Chinese universities have risen into the ranks of the world’s top 50 institutions.
Even so, experts say China still has significant ground to cover before it can rival the U.S. as a leading scientific power, and its R&D ambitions may be constrained by the country’s slowing economic growth. Observers also note that the Chinese Communist Party’s tight control over industry and academia creates a very different environment from the one that has historically underpinned American scientific success.
Experts also point out that China’s generally more restrictive political climate and overall quality of life influence where scientists choose to live and raise their families.
The statistics confirm this trend. According to the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, more than 83% of Chinese graduates who earned science and engineering PhDs in the U.S. between 2017 and 2019 were still residing in the country as of 2023.
Chinese Language Skills Presents
For scientists without ties to China, relocating to a country where navigating daily life can be challenging without Chinese language skills presents additional hurdles. In an increasingly nationalistic environment, there have also been instances of social media backlash against researchers perceived as pro-American or those who were born in China, built their careers abroad, and later returned.
Yu Hongtao, dean of the School of Life Sciences at Westlake University-China’s first public-private research university-advises that even amid concerns about the future of science in the US, prospective faculty members should carefully consider their decision to join his institution.
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
“If the decision is driven solely by negative factors-simply wanting to escape the situation in the U.S. -without viewing China as an opportunity, I would advise against coming,” said Yu, who spent 20 years at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. He also highlighted challenges for researchers taking positions in China, including cultural differences and the country’s approach to grant allocation.
However, several scientists and experts interviewed by NewsFastTV emphasized that a top priority for researchers is finding an environment where they can pursue their work undisturbed and with sufficient funding. They noted that recent changes in the U.S. could alter this dynamic.
“If American universities continue funding research at their current pace… it will still take China a very long time to reach the same level,” said Yau Shing-tung, a renowned mathematician and Fields Medalist, who retired from Harvard University after 35 years and joined Tsinghua University full-time in 2022.
