Brain drain contest: China’s 1,000 Talents vs US soft power

The suggestion of a “reverse brain drain” in which more and more Chinese scientists are leaving America for positions in China has been broached repeatedly by pro-Beijing newspapers addressing worries that the Trump administration’s China Initiative scheme may return.

The Republican-dominated US House of Representatives on September 9 passed the Protect America’s Innovation and Economic Security From CCP Act, which calls for the revival of the discontinued China Initiative scheme to counter

• espionage,
• theft of intellectual property and trade secrets and
• threats posed by the Chinese government to critical infrastructure.

Before it can become law, the proposed legislation needs approval in the US Senate, where Democrats for now have the majority. And it needs the signature of the US President, who at the moment is a Democrat.

The Biden administration said in a statement on September 10 that it opposes this bill. It said it has worked to combat threats posed by trade-secret theft, hacking and economic espionage, including by actors affiliated with China.

“Grouping cases in the manner contemplated by this legislation would undermine the Department of Justice’s ability to investigate and prosecute such criminal activity, including by making it more difficult for the DOJ to obtain cooperation from victims and witnesses,” it said.

It also said the bill could give rise to incorrect and harmful public perceptions that the DOJ applies a different standard to investigate and prosecute criminal conduct related to the Chinese people or to American citizens of Chinese descent.

The result of the US presidential election on November 5 may change Washington’s view on the issue. And that possibility has weighed on scientists in the US