Why are top US scientists choosing to move their research careers to China?

Liu Jun, a respected statistician and longtime Harvard professor, has returned to China, as part of a growing exodus of academics from the US driven by funding cuts and rising opportunities in EU and

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Francis Bacon once wrote, ‘Knowledge is power’. Today, nearly 400 years after his statement, the words couldn’t be more true. In the 21st century, the power of knowledge is increasingly being contested between nations. Following World War-II, the US attracted top global scientists. But today, many are moving to China. From Nobel laureates to young talent in mathematics and data science, the shift highlights China’s scientific rise and America’s challenges.

 

Consider Liu Jun, a widely known statistician and Harvard professor for many years. He has recently returned to China and took a chair at Tsinghua University, according to the South China Morning Post. Liu has a long background in data science, biostatistics and artificial intelligence with a lot of important work in big data and machine learning.

 

Liu started his academic career in the United States at Rutgers University in the late 1980s then went to the University of Chicago.

 

His reverse migration has been linked to China’s rising research capabilities and funding cuts at Harvard, where projects were halted after the Trump administration froze grants in April 2020.

 

US funding cuts and immigration hurdles 

The challenges faced by Liu reflect broader pressures driving scientists away from the United States. Reduced funding, stricter immigration rules and growing political pressures have made it harder for researchers to pursue work there.

 

A survey by the Nature journal in March this year found that three-quarters of US-based researchers were considering leaving the country. The poll also showed an increase in applications for jobs abroad, with China and Europe emerging as major destinations. The European Union has pledged €500 million to attract researchers, underscoring global competition for scientific talent.

 

Observers warn that US cuts in areas such as climate and environmental research may have lasting consequences, potentially weakening its global leadership in science and technology.

 

Scientists and researchers moving to China

 

Liu Jun is part of a broader trend. In recent years, many leading academics have left US institutions for Chinese universities.

 

Yang Dan, a neuroscientist formerly at the University of California, Berkeley, returned to Beijing in 2024 to continue her research. Harvard nanochemist Charles Lieber, convicted in the US for failing to disclose Chinese funding, joined Tsinghua University in May this year to lead nanoscience projects.

 

Mathematician Sun Song, once a professor at the University of Berkeley and considered a strong contender for the Fields Medal (akin to Nobel Prize for Mathematics), relocated to Zhejiang University in 2024. Before him, Zhejiang also recruited University of Michigan geometer Ruan Yongbin and Harvard number theorist Liu Yifei.

 

Meanwhile, French physicist and Nobel laureate Gerard Mourou accepted a chair professorship at Peking University in October last year, where he is tasked with building a new physics institute focused on global collaboration.

 

Furthermore, nanotechnology pioneer Wang Zhonglin, widely known as the “father of nanogenerators,” also shifted full-time to China in 2023, taking charge of the Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems. His work has broad applications in medicine, energy, industry and defence.

 

What was the ‘China Initiative’ in the US? 

A Stanford University study earlier in 2024, found a sharp increase in the number of scientists of Chinese descent leaving the US since 2010. The study noted that the trend accelerated after the launch of the ‘China Initiative’ in 2018, a US Department of Justice programme aimed at curbing ‘economic espionage’ (theft of trade secrets, intellectual property, and confidential business information). While most cases under the initiative were dropped for lack of evidence, the probe created a chilling effect, with many researchers facing investigations, career setbacks and financial strain.

 

Since the beginning of the initiative, there has been a 75 per cent rise in Chinese-origin scientists leaving the US, the Stanford team reported. Researchers also noted that while China’s investment in science and attractive compensation packages act as strong “pull factors”, the China Initiative served as a major “push factor” driving talent away from the US.

 

Impact of US prosecutions on researchers 

Former University of Kansas chemist Franklin Feng Tao was acquitted of his final conviction in 2024 after a five-year legal battle, but cases under the programme left lasting scars. His case highlighted how prosecutions destroyed careers and discouraged collaboration between US and Chinese institutions.

 

Although the programme was formally scrapped in 2022, its impact continues to shape decisions by researchers of Chinese descent. Stanford researchers estimate nearly 20,000 such scientists have left the US since 2010, based on an analysis of over 200 million academic publications. 

The migration of scientists underscores how global competition for talent is reshaping research landscapes. China’s heavy spending on science and technology, combined with initiatives to recruit overseas scholars, has drawn attention from top names across disciplines.