China, already among the top-ranking countries for research and development, is dramatically lacking top level talents. The Chinese authorities have recently announced measures aimed at attracting foreign talents or facilitating the return of Chinese expatriates, but the decisions announced are not solving all the problems.
China’s situation is quite problematic. The country and its companies have invested heavily in R&D over the past two decades, and is the second-largest performer in terms of R&D spending, with 20 % of the world R&D expenditure. According to the US National Science Foundation, the number of PHDs in China is higher than in the US and Europe, but it is not sufficient.
The problem is that China’s talents are easily leaving the country, and that it is not compensated by foreign specialists coming to work in China. The International Labor Organization has published at the beginning of September a report prepared by the Chinese thinktank Center for China and Globalization (CCG) funded by the European Union.
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