China’s ambitions to become a global scientific superpower are being bolstered not only by its own strategic investments but increasingly by US policies that are pushing foreign researchers away. The Trump administration’s visa restrictions, investigations into Chinese scientists, and deep cuts to federal research funding have accelerated a shift that has long been in the making: elite scientific talent is returning to China, the New York Times reported.
At the heart of this shift are Chinese-born scientists who once helped cement America’s leadership in science and technology. But now, many are leaving US universities — willingly or under duress — to take up high-paying, well-resourced posts at institutions like Westlake University in Hangzhou or Fudan University in Shanghai. Their decisions reflect a growing frustration with the atmosphere in US academia, which has become increasingly hostile for Chinese researchers.
A new wave of brain gain for China
Between 2010 and 2021, nearly 12,500 Chinese scientists left the US for China, according to a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Over half of them departed after 2017, as Trump’s administration ramped up its so-called “China Initiative” and began scrutinizing the foreign ties of US-based researchers. Though many of those investigations eventually collapsed, the damage was already done: careers were derailed, reputations tarnished, and the message was clear — Chinese scientists were being treated with suspicion.
Meanwhile, Chinese institutions rolled out the red carpet. Westlake University, founded by returnee scientists, boasts a campus of sleek laboratories, AI-powered research tools, and portraits of professors who once held posts at Harvard, Michigan, and other top US schools. Among them are MacArthur “Genius” grant winners and recipients of funding from the National Science Foundation and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
Recruitment ads from Chinese universities promise compensation on par with Ivy League salaries, generous housing subsidies, and millions in research funding. The exodus now includes not just Chinese nationals but even American scientists like Charles Lieber, the former Harvard chemist convicted in 2023 for failing to disclose payments from a Chinese university, who recently joined Tsinghua University.
The US turns away talent — and funding
Under President Trump, the US slashed federal science budgets, criticised elite institutions like Harvard, and vowed to revoke visas for Chinese students in “critical fields.” Researchers from China have found it harder to attend US academic conferences or get new visas, while state-level restrictions — like those in Texas — ban university employees from traveling to China for work.
Many fear the result is long-term harm to America’s research ecosystem. “The United States is shooting itself in the foot,” said Zhang Xiaoming, who left Baylor College of Medicine to lead medical education at Westlake University. Without foreign scientists, especially Chinese researchers, the US “can’t go on,” he said.
Indeed, nearly 20% of all US STEM Ph.D.s awarded in 2020 went to Chinese students. Between 2005 and 2015, 87% of them stayed on in the US But now, China is successfully luring them back — and younger scientists, like 32-year-old Fu Tianfan, an AI researcher formerly at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, are joining the shift.
China’s strategy meets its own challenges
China’s rise as a scientific hub is not without obstacles. Internal jealousy toward returnees, political surveillance of scholars, and censorship risks complicate academic life. Some worry that the government’s heavy hand could discourage free thinking. Yet, for many, these concerns are outweighed by the material support and career stability offered at home.
China now spends more on research and development than any country besides the US, and its top universities routinely rank among the world’s best in engineering, AI, and biotechnology. President Xi Jinping has linked science to national power, calling the tech race a key front in the broader superpower rivalry.
The long-term impact
Whether the talent flowing back to China stays there permanently remains to be seen. But in the near term, the Trump-era policies that aimed to protect US intellectual property may have instead triggered a reversal of brain drain. Scientists like Lu Wuyuan, formerly of the University of Maryland and now at Fudan, say the climate in the US has grown too hostile.
“If they cut so much funding,” Lu said, “that may be the last straw.”
As both countries double down on technological self-reliance, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the US–China rivalry is not just about chips and tariffs — it’s about who wins the race for human capital.
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