Chinese researchers leaving the U.S. amid rising tensions, study finds

A recent academic study has found that a growing number of American-trained researchers of Chinese nationality have relocated from the U.S.

Based on an analysis of author data in academic journal papers, the study identified nearly 1,500 scientists and social scientists who started their careers in the U.S and switched to Chinese addresses last year.

Some scholars said Chinese government investments in mainland universities and scientific research could also be a draw for many academics returning to China.

“I have a problem with the attempts, largely by innuendo, to link Chinese movements back to the mainland to the China Initiative,” said Robert Heineman, a retired political science professor at Alfred University in New York.

academic centers funded by the Chinese government, which employed many Chinese scholars at American schools until recently.

The Council of Graduate Schools reported earlier this month that India passed China last year as the leading exporter of graduate students to the U.S.

From fall 2020 to fall 2021, the council found in an annual survey that graduate program applications from India increased by 36% — well above the previous 5% high for a yearly increase dating back to 2016.

As more Chinese students stay on the mainland for graduate school, last week’s study suggests Chinese academics in the U.S.

as academic researchers