"Chinese Talent Leaving Trump-Era U.S. for Home... 'Economic Slowdown' Works in Xi Jinping's Favor"
by Kim Seungwook
Published 20 Apr.2026 08:15(KST)
WSJ Highlights the Departure of Chinese Talent from the U.S.
"Chinese Government Incentives and Improved Quality of Life Drive the Trend"
"Anti-American Propaganda Grows More Sophisticated, Crime in the Spotlight"
Reports have emerged that talented Chinese professionals are leaving the United States and returning to their home country.
A Chinese man walking in Beijing, a photo to aid article understanding. Photo by Reuters Yonhap News Agency
원본보기 아이콘According to Yonhap News, citing the U.S. daily The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 18th (local time), "Chinese talent who once chose to move to the United States are now returning home due to stricter immigration crackdowns under the Donald Trump administration, frequent gun crimes, and high living costs."
WSJ traced the start of this trend back to 2020. During the first Trump administration, when the COVID-19 pandemic began, a large number of Chinese scientists were indicted on espionage charges. According to the Asian American Scholar Forum, more than 1,400 Chinese scientists educated in the United States returned to China in 2021, marking a dramatic 22% increase compared to the previous year.
The outflow of Chinese professionals from the United States continued during the second Trump administration. In September of last year, Tsinghua University in Beijing recruited Su Pei, a leading chip designer from Intel, and Liu Jun, a renowned statistician from Harvard University, in quick succession.
WSJ pointed out that not only has the quality of life in China improved due to economic development, but the Chinese government is also luring talent back home by offering massive financial support. An executive at a U.S.-based company working in China told WSJ, "In the technology sector, there are many jobs that offer salaries competitive enough to attract top talent back to their home country."
It is also being noted that Chinese authorities have become more sophisticated in their anti-American propaganda. For example, one state media-linked account on China's social networking service WeChat posted a video of a U.S. shooting incident that occurred on Christmas Eve in 2024, showing a man answering the door with a gun after hearing a knock, only to be shot by police.
In fact, in recent years, the annual average murder rate in the United States (based on 35 cities) was 10.4 per 100,000 people in 2025, significantly higher than China's official figure of 0.44 per 100,000 people in 2024. WSJ analyzed that intensified immigration crackdowns under the Trump administration, housing issues in coastal cities where most Chinese immigrants reside, high crime rates, and rising costs of living all contributed to the trend of returning to China.
WSJ reported, "China is currently experiencing a slowdown in growth due to the recent real estate market slump and sluggish domestic demand," adding, "This year's economic growth target (4.5-5%) is the lowest in 35 years." The report continued, "In a situation where dissatisfaction with the economic downturn could erupt, the alternative offered by the United States, China's biggest competitor, is no longer attractive," emphasizing that "this shift is working in favor of Chinese President Xi Jinping."
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