Behind profound changes in the international landscape are concentrated transfers of large-scale high-end talent. At present, the international talent competition is intensifying, and the "talent arbitrage" policies pursued by the US, Japan, and other countries are endangering China's national security. As the talent war intensifies, China is showing three major disadvantages: a "study abroad deficit," an "immigration deficit," and a "talent deficit." China's green card has been jokingly called the world's "most restrictive." How to reverse China's disadvantaged position in talent competition and provide talent support for realizing the "Chinese Dream" is an urgent task.

"Talent arbitrage" endangers talent strategy security

According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), from 2010 to 2020, major developed countries such as the United States, Canada, Germany, France, South Korea, and Japan will face severe talent shortages. Although the severe shortage will ease somewhat from 2020 to 2030, it will remain in a stage of scarcity. To gain an edge in the global talent war, competition among countries is becoming increasingly fierce.

Talent research experts say that since the global financial crisis, the United States has released two "American Innovation Strategies," promoted immigration reform, and actively attracted innovative and entrepreneurial talent in high-tech fields. The European Union has launched the "EU Framework Program" and established the EU "Blue Card" to gain an edge in talent competition. In addition, developing countries such as India, Vietnam, and the Philippines are also paying increasing attention to talent competition.

In the international talent war, despite China's frequent efforts, there is still a serious "talent deficit." Statistics show that from 1978 to 2011, the total number of Chinese students studying abroad reached 2.245 million, while the number of returnees during the same period was only 818,400. China has become the largest source of international students for the United States and the second-largest source of immigrants. Most high-end talent remains overseas for various reasons.

Talent research experts believe that the "talent arbitrage" behavior of developed countries has supported their rapid development. China has huge government investment, family, and social support costs in talent cultivation, but developed countries, with great policy advantages, are "creaming off" the high-end talent cultivated by China without bearing the upfront costs, directly threatening China's talent strategy security.

Is China's green card the world's "most restrictive"?

Unlike wartime, the strategic measures for competing for international talent in peacetime consist of entry, visa, residence, green card, naturalization, and other foreign entry and residence policy systems. Although measures such as China's "Thousand Talents Plan" have been effective, there are still unfavorable factors in talent introduction policies, such as high thresholds, cumbersome procedures, and rigid identity restrictions. China still faces three major deficits: study abroad, immigration, and talent.

"Study abroad deficit"

The International Talent Blue Book "Report on the Development of Chinese Students Studying Abroad (2013)" released by the Center for China and Globalization shows that in 2004, the difference between the number of Chinese students studying abroad and the total number of international students in China was 316,200, expanding to 808,600 in 2012. In 2012, the total number of Chinese students overseas was 1,136,900, while the number of international students in China was only 328,300.

Wang Huiyao, vice president of the Western Returned Scholars Association and director of the Center for China and Globalization, said that behind this phenomenon of high output and low input in the study abroad field, the fact exposed is that China is cultivating elite talent for developed countries.

"Immigration deficit"

The "Report on Chinese International Migration (2014)" recently released by the Center for China and Globalization shows that in 2012, the number of Chinese going to the four major immigration countries—the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand—reached 148,000, while in the same year, the total number of permanent residence permits issued to foreigners in China was only 1,202, which was still the highest value since China implemented the green card system. China's green card is thus called the "world's hardest green card."

In 2012, China added a "talent visa" category to ordinary visas, but in actual implementation, due to departmental fragmentation and conflicting interests, the visa threshold has risen rather than fallen, and there are few applicants. Wang Huiyao said: "In talent mobility management, some current regulations and departmental leadership thinking simply cannot match actual needs."

"Talent deficit"

In the past two years, although the number of returnees has increased, the talent structure is not optimistic. According to the "Report on the Employment of Ten Thousand Returnees (2012)" released by the Chinese Ministry of Education's Service Center for Scholarly Exchange, about half of the returnees employed are graduates of one-year master's degree programs abroad, and doctoral returnees account for only 10% of the total.

Reporters learned from relevant departments that in recent years, the number of top talent lost by China ranks first in the world, with an average retention rate of 87% in science and engineering fields. This means that among returnees, the proportion of high-level innovative talent is very low, and the talent structure is unreasonable.

Deepen reform to break down barriers to talent introduction

China is facing key transformations from demographic dividend to talent dividend, from "Made in China" to "Created in China," from attracting investment to attracting talent and intelligence, and from resource-intensive to knowledge-intensive economic growth. China urgently needs to shift its approach to high-end talent from over-reliance on domestic talent resources to equal emphasis on both domestic and international high-end talent resources, and establish an international talent competition strategy of "recruiting the world's top talent for our use."

The Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee proposed accelerating the formation of a talent system advantage with international competitiveness. Some experts suggest that the achievements of the first 30 years of reform and opening up depended to some extent on the general labor dividend released after domestic barriers to population mobility were eliminated. At present, with economic transformation and upgrading and innovation-driven development, higher-level talent is urgently needed.

"After 2008, against the backdrop of the financial crisis and massive cuts in government debt in the US and Europe, the conditions and attractiveness for overseas development have declined. Now more and more talent are returning to China to develop. This is a golden period for us to bottom-fish international talent and implement the strategy of strengthening the nation through talent," said Wang Wen, dean of the School of Insurance at the University of International Business and Economics.

Experts suggest establishing a national immigration management agency and aligning with international practices in institutional setup, study abroad policies, visa systems, and other aspects. "We don't seek to possess them, but to use them." Establishing and improving an immigration system and management norms in line with international practices is a top priority.

"Let intellectuals return, let the funds of overseas Chinese return—this is of great benefit to China's development," Wang Huiyao said. For overseas Chinese and Chinese students who have naturalized abroad, long-term visas and overseas Chinese certificates can be offered to attract outflow talent back to China.

Financial institutions involved in overseas talent hunting generally believe that future talent introduction projects similar to the "Thousand Talents Plan" need to set talent introduction standards based on actual conditions such as industry development stages and corporate employment needs, and especially need to enhance corporate autonomy. For example, the financial industry is closely related to the stage of national economic development. Some companies' international business develops slowly and do not need first-class Wall Street talent; they need more outstanding talent in basic business areas.

At the same time, experts suggest promptly abolishing policies that restrict foreign students from working in China after graduation and opening work and internship visas for foreign students in China. Attract outstanding foreign talent to work in China, establish a Chinese international immigration system, reverse the "immigration deficit" by attracting foreign talent, and let more international talent with genuine skills realize their "Chinese Dream" in China.