Transcript Is China a Magnet for Talent?”

“Is China a Magnet for Talent?”
David Zweig
Chair Professor, Division of Social Science
Director, Center on China’s Transnational Relations
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Presented at the Eighth National Canadian Metropolis Conference
“Immigration and Canada’s Place in a Changing World”
Bayshore Hotel, Vancouver, 24 March 2006
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Key Points:
1.
2.
3.
China’s governments at all levels—national,
provincial, municipal—are actively engaged in
trying to get overseas scholars to return to China.
China’s top leaders recognize the importance of
the “reverse brain drain,” publicly support it, and
make it important component of the national
strategy of “building the country through science
and education” (ke jiao xing guo).
Universities and research labs under the
Chinese Academy of Sciences, using their own
funds and government funds, are competing
among themselves to attract best talent.
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4. Government’s role is somewhat indirect—only
limited number of returnees cite government
efforts as their key reason for returning.
5. Since early-2000, rewards from China’s market
for those who transfer technology that is new for
China is a key force behind “reverse brain drain.”
Chinese scholars and entrepreneurs living
overseas are keenly aware of the opportunities
transferring technology can bring them.
6. Dramatic increases in the number of returnees in
past three years belies the fact that many
returnees gained only limited skills overseas.
They are often as much a burden as a benefit to
the Chinese economic system.
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Figure 1. Number of Returned Students, 1978-2004
30000
25000
20000
Number
15000
10000
5000
0
1978
1985
1987
1989
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2005
Year
Source: China Statistical Yearbook, 2004, p. 781.
The numbers are growing!
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Chinese Government Role: The National Level
Creating a favourable political context:
"Competition in scientific research is
competition for talents'‘
—former President Jiang Zemin
 Central government puts returnees as key part of
national policy to “Build China Through Science
and Education” and “Strengthen the Country
through Human Talent” (rencai qiang guo).
 Being part of national program enhances their role,
directs central budgetary funds towards them,
mobilizes bureaucracy to work to bring them back.
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Creating a favourable political context
 Former P.M. Zhu Rongji, at 6th Session of the
Worldwide Chinese Businessmen’s Association
(2001), stressed that China would now stress the
infusion of human talent with technical skills,
rather than attracting foreign capital.
 2003, President Hu Jintao and V.P. Zeng
Qinghong, in a series of speeches known as the
“three talks” (san pian jiang hua), reconfirmed
leadership support for overseas study, calling the
returnees’ role “irreplaceable” (buke daitide) and of
“outstanding historic role” (dute de lishi zuoyong).
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Creating Favourable Political Context
 To say something is of “historic” importance
carries great weight in China.
 More than 10 programs, since 1996, have
encouraged people to return.
 Other programs, and the year of initiation, include
the “Seed Fund for Returned Overseas Scholars”
(1990), “Cross Century Outstanding Personnel
Training Program” (1991), the “National Science
Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars” (1994),
and “The One Hundred, One Thousand, and Ten
Thousands Program” (1995).
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Government Encourages
Educational Institutions
 Since late 1980s, Ministry of Education
(MOE) program: “Financial Support for
Outstanding Young Professors Program”
(youxiu qingnian jiaoshi zizhu jihua),
 by end-2003, MOE awarded 2,218 returning
professors with total of 144 million RMB.
 May 1998, Jiang Zemin’s speech on
occasion of 100th anniversary of Peking
University (Beida), called for China to
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establish “world-class universities.”
Government Encourages
Educational Institutions
 Thereafter, under “985 Plan,” government invested
billions of RMB in 9 universities to make them
“world-class” and pushed them to hire overseas
scholars.
 Also, Cheung Kong Scholars Programme
(Changjiang xuezhi jiangli jihua), funded by Hong
Kong ‘s (and Vancouver’s) Li Ka-hsing.
 Between 1998 and 2004, it brought 537 scholars
from overseas to become leaders in key research
fields.
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Government Encourages
Research Institutions
 Ministry of Finance gives research institutes
at Chinese Academy of Sciences funds
under “100 Talent’s Program”
 allots 2 million RMB to awardees, 20% can
be used for extra salary.
 Most must start up a new lab, get graduate
students and research staff.
 Major emphasis on key scientific sectors
such as bio-tech, nanno-tech, energy,
environment, etc.
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Local Governments Compete like
firms for foreign talent
 Discounts on housing, imports on cars, computers,
 free office or factory floor space,
 jobs for wives and schools for kids,
 residence permits for people with foreign
passports.
 Most cities have “parks for overseas scholars to
establish businesses” (liuxue huiguo renyuan
chuangye yuan).
 Beijing and Shanghai each have 14 zones for
overseas scholars in their city.
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Rewards from marketplace
 Key source of attraction is domestic market, which




rewards people who bring technology to China.
100 returnee entrepreneurs interviewed in Beijing,
Shanghai, Guangzhou in 2004.
We asked why they returned to China:
27% selected—“I have a technology that I believe
will have a good prospect in China”—as their
primary reason for returning.
Another 28 percent chose it as their second
reason.
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Earlier study showed important rewards to
technology importers
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Table 1. Rewards To Technology Importers in
Development Zones, 2001 (in RMB)
Yearly Salary*
Importers
Non-Importers
Under 20,000
2.1
12.3
20,000-39,999
10.4
28.9
40,000-79,999
25.0
18.5
80,000-99,999
10.4
2.1
Over 100,000
20.8
6.2
Can't calculate income
14.6
6.2
No response
16.7
25.8
N=145
Source: Interviews in Development Zones, 2001.
Note: *The differences are statistically significant at p<0.01.
Technology importers include both returnees and people who have not gone overseas.
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Do Institutional Efforts Work?
or
How Good is the Returning Talent?
 Director of a CAS research institute put most returnees in top





50%-80% of overseas scholars, but top 20% remain overseas.
In 2003, Beijing’s High Energy Physics Laboratory under CAS
had attracted no one with a Ph.D. All were abroad or in business
in China.
Dr. Rao Yi, at Washington University in St. Louis and an advisor
to CAS, argued that in terms of international reputation and
prestige, few academic returnees are comparable to those who
stay abroad.
800-1,000 scientists of Chinese origin run independent labs in
the U.S.
Getting people to stay is also a problem:
Stellar CAS recipient of “100 Talent’s” fellowship, (Science
publication), given huge apartment and fellowship for wife, in
2003 said he was uncertain if they would stay in China.
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 Returnees to CAS interviewed in 2001-2004
 Not particularly successful overseas
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Table 2. Evaluating the Quality of Returnees
• 3% (2/82) of scientists we interviewed in Changsha,
Guangzhou, Wuhan and Kunming, earned over
US$50,000/year on eve of returning;
• 3/82 earned US$35,000-$49,999.
• Very few had patents, although 20% earned Ph.D.s
overseas.
• 8/109 academics interviewed in 2002 had left behind
salary of over US$25,000/year, while 77% earned
under US$12,500/year.
 Very few leaving stable academic or research
positions to return to China.
 Most were post-doctoral fellows.
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Table 3. Why Scientists Return: Indicators of
Government Success
• 22% chose“ changes in the domestic environment” as
2nd reason for returning;
• “freedom to come and go”—1st choice of 3%, 2nd
choice of 10%, and 3rd choice of 10%.
• “Political stability”: 2nd choice of 7%; 3rd choice of
3.4%
• “changes in how the government uses people”—3rd
choice of 9%.
Source: Interviews with CAS Scientists, 2002 and 2004, N=86
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Asking the question differently increased the
government’s role.
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Table 4. Why has the Number of Returnees
Increased?
• China’s rapid economic development
• good government policy
• good opportunity to develop new technology in China
• hard to find good opportunities overseas
• glass ceiling overseas for Chinese
• political stability in China
58%
47%
42%
32%
31%
19%
Note: People could select more than one reason.
Source: Interviews with CAS scientists, 2002 and 2004, N=86.
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Problems for Returnees
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Table 5. Why Not Establish Company
in China (top 3 reasons)
Government bureaucracy/regulation
Inadequate legal system
Political or economic uncertainty
Unfair competition
Immature market conditions
Unreliable infrastructure
Lack of access to capital
Poor business services
Inferior quality of life
Poor quality of manpower
Rising cost of labour
57.5%
50.0%
38.3%
37.0%
32.9%
19.9%
18.4%
16.6%
13.0%
5.2%
1.8%
Source: Data collected by AnnaLee Saxenian, funded by Public Policy Institute
of California.
Note: Data was collected in May-June 2001. N=368. We reanalyzed her data set.22
Problem of “Hai Dai” or Unemployed Returnees:
Numbers do not tell the real story
 recent jump in returnees suggests great
success for government policy and attraction
of China.
 But, 50% of 30,000 returnees in 2005 were
students who had just finished a BA or oneyear MA.
 Many studied in Britain, which gives one-year
MA, but does not allow students to stay on for
training or work,
 These not-so-well-trained students MUST
return to China.
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Problem of “Hai Dai”
 Not the well-trained scientists, academics, or
entrepreneurs who will propel China’s economy in the
21st century.
 China must find jobs for these returnees, now called
“Hai dai”—“overseas trained who can’t find a job”—but
also means “seaweed.”
 Many programs help them, much research underway
to explain this phenomenon.
 Much anger at Britain for creating this problem by
treating Chinese youths as a commodity and a source
of foreign exchange for British universities.
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Conclusion
 China quite successful in creating a positive
environment for returnees.
 Expect the number of returnees to continue
to grow.
 Enormous demand in China for high quality
returnees, especially since Chinese and
Western firms in China need more middle
managers.
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Conclusion
 Many Chinese universities try to fill this need,
but the quality not high enough.
 Great interest among skilled Chinese who
are overseas to return to China
 But don’t be fooled by numbers, increased
flow creates problem for China as well.
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