20,000 Chinese scientists leave the United States! British media laments, no wonder the West's advantages in science and technology have disappeared

Over the past decade or so, the United States has been seen as a global hub for scientific research and technological innovation, with Chinese scientists and students playing an irreplaceable role. However, in recent years, this tide of talent is quietly reversing — not flowing into the United States, but leaving it. Britain

According to data from multiple sources, between 2010 and 2021, approximately 20,000 Chinese scientists chose to leave the United States.

A major reason for this is that the U.S. side's so-called efforts to prevent "technology theft" have evolved into large-scale scrutiny of Chinese scientists.

According to a report released by MIT in 2022, in the period when this program was implemented, more than 80% of the cases investigated did not involve any espionage activities at all, most were just administrative violations or completely innocent. Nevertheless, many Chinese professors, postdoctoral researchers, and graduate students still voluntarily withdrew from projects, gave up their positions, or even left the U.S. academic community out of fear of being implicated.

At the same time, China has been vigorously "building nests to attract phoenixes." Since 2012, China's financial expenditure on science and technology has grown by more than 10% annually; by 2023, the country's total R&D investment had exceeded 3.3 trillion yuan, accounting for 2.64% of GDP, close to the average level of OECD countries.

More importantly, various "High-level Overseas Talent Introduction Programs" provide start-up funding, laboratory resources, housing subsidies, and even support for children's education to returning scientists. For example, since its establishment in 2018, the Artificial Intelligence Research Institute at Tsinghua University has attracted more than 50 Chinese scientists who previously worked at top institutions such as Stanford, MIT, and Carnegie Mellon to return full-time to China.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1850474662438153/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.