Movement of Global Talent

Dr. Wang HuiYao from Shanghai. 

China 100,000 students/year go overseas, mostly to US.  Cumulatively over 1 million up to 2006.  almost 300,000 returned to china.  China has gone through a lot of labor export in recent years.  >1/2 million labor mostly in SEAsia, middleeast.

Have done studies on returnees and "astronauts" (move back and forth across Pacific).  Among those who return to China to start business, many are highly-educated.  Silicon valley has big impact on China, particularly in high-tech sector.  70% of successful startups concentrated in high-tech.  20% in service sector.  5% in manufacturing.  less than 1% in real estate.

Average returnee has 5 years working experience before going back to China.  Helps startups. 

Social networks:  80% of returnees have belonged to some association, Ch. of commerce, etc

Team-building skills learned in western countries.  a lot of companies have at least 3 returnees making a team. 

Venture capital.  Returnees reach back and forth for venture capital, which helps chinese links with US.  more than 30 chinese companies on NASDAQ with 25 billion US cap, most set up by returnees.

Returnees who go back for business, average age 35 yrs old.  More than half of returnees who study business did so in US, others in europe, australia, japan.

Other studies, legal, management, science, humanities.  Latest study, more than 50% study management, business and commerce.

Differ from David Zweig view on benefit to US of chinese returnees.  right now still have students in the US.  many chinese faculty from mainland china.  also chinese in multinational corporations.  most of senior management in fortune 500 companies in china no longer handled by expats, but by chinese returnees.  helping US multinationals doing trade. 

more indians than chinese go into social sciences.  perhaps because english so widespread in india, whereas chinese have to learn language on top of everything else.