Insightperspectives January 1, 2016 v3

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During the 1980s and 1990s, many decided to remain
abroad, particularly after the suppression of the
student movement in 1989. Why should they go back
to an authoritarian state with low living standards and
few career options? The government's appeals to
students' patriotism were generally ignored at this
time, so China was soon facing a classic brain drain
problem. However, a new policy introduced in 1992
promised that the government would “support studies
abroad, encourage [graduates] to come back to China,
and grant them freedom to come and go”. This policy,
which is still in place, signaled a focus on the positive
effects of "brain circulation" rather than on brain drain.
The government has evidently realized that Chinese
scholars, experts and entrepreneurs with key positions
in foreign companies and institutions can be just as
useful to China as those who come back, at least as
long as they are willing to integrate mainland Chinese
colleagues in their social and commercial networks.
Still, it is important for China that some of their best
brains return, and particularly since the financial crisis
in 2008 the government has had some success in
attracting Chinese graduates from abroad. More than
360,000 students came back in 2014, up 3.2 per cent
from 2013, and 1.81 million students in total have
returned to China from overseas since 1978.
In order to attract more people, a so-called 1000
Talents Plan was introduced in 2008, which promised
better working conditions and a range of special
privileges to particularly competent overseas graduates
who agreed to return to China. Some provinces and
cities later announced similar local plans. Such policies
have made it more attractive for some experts to go
back to China part of the year, without giving up their
position in the West. However,
indicates that "…the return of the large numbers of the
very best and very brightest is still not happening."
Prospects
It is unlikely that the growth in the number of Chinese
students abroad will stop. The youth cohort will shrink
over the next years, but more families will join the
middle classes and frustrations with China's education
system will probably continue unabated in the absence
of fundamental reforms. At the same time, we see a
growing trend towards young Chinese studying abroad
for a shorter period of time, maybe a semester or two,
without aiming for a foreign degree but rather as part
of their personal development, much like European