US continues to lose Chinese-origin scientists

The United States had been losing talent to China, particularly after the China Initiative. According to a joint report by academics from Harvard, Princeton, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, at least 1,400 US-based ethnic Chinese scientists switched their affiliation last year from American to Chinese institutions. Yu Xie, a sociology professor at Princeton University, said they see an increase in that trend. Launched in 2018 by the administration of former US president Donald Trump, the China Initiative aimed to fight suspected Chinese theft of technical secrets and intellectual property as competition between the two countries intensified. The administration of US President Joe Biden formally ended the programme this year, but the report said there is still a widespread fear among Chinese-origin scientists in the US over conducting routine research and academic activities.