Why China's students and scientists are heading back home
What's the story
The latest US News & World Report rankings have highlighted the rise of Chinese universities in global academia. Tsinghua University at 11th position, Peking University (25th), and Zhejiang University (45th) are among 15 Chinese institutions that made it to the top 100 list. This is attributed to China's heavy investment in education and recruitment of overseas staff. As a result, several students and scientists of Chinese descent fed up with US President Donald Trump's policies, are heading back home.
Student migration
Number of Chinese students heading to the US has dropped
The number of Chinese students heading to the US has dropped significantly over the last five years. From 372,532 in the 2019-20 academic year, the number fell to 277,398 by 2023-24. This decline is largely due to visa challenges, cuts in research funding, and severe scrutiny under the Trump administration. The trend has been so pronounced that India now sends more students to the US than China.
Exodus
What about scientists?
Just like students, around 20,000 scientists of Chinese origin left the US for other nations between 2010-2021, as per a study by Princeton University sociologist Yu Xie. The brain drain surged after 2018 when the US government launched the 'China Initiative.' It was described as an effort to find "Chinese economic espionage" threatening national security of the US.
Migration
Visa challenges could deter students
Fordham University professor Rick Carew warned that "visa challenges and government scrutiny could deter talented Chinese students and researchers from choosing to study in the US in the future." He noted that China-born scholars contribute significantly to academic research in America, but heightened political tensions have made them targets for scrutiny. This has led many top scholars more interested in research than geopolitics to consider offers from Chinese universities.
R&D growth
China has been investing heavily in R&D
China has been investing heavily in research and development, spending over $780 billion on R&D in 2023. This is 96% of US R&D spending, up from just 72% a decade ago. The country surpassed the US in research output in 2017 and has since produced an increasing number of cited publications, indicating that its research is gaining traction within the global academic community.
Popularity
Zhejiang University is an attractive destination
Chinese universities like Zhejiang University have been instrumental in attracting research funding and top scientists from the US. The university is home to several innovative tech start-ups, including DeepSeek, which offers an affordable, open-source alternative to large language AI models.