China’s Brain Gain? Attitudes and Future Plans of Overseas Chinese Students in the US

The largest group of foreign students currently in the United States comes from the People’s Republic of China (PRC). According to a 1993 UC Berkeley survey (Zweig and Chen, 1995), the percentage of Chinese students planning to eventually return home was 33%. However in the past decade this percentage appears to be increasing. This article uses results from surveys taken in 2001 and 2005 of Chinese students enrolled at American universities to show that the intention to return home after graduation is indeed rising. The cause behind this rise is shown to be largely driven by the economic opportunities back home and cultural comfort, although the desire to give back to their homeland is also a prominent factor. The impact of 9/11 vis-à-vis US visa and employment policies was shown to have relatively little effect on Chinese students’ post-graduate plans