China recruits top researchers from US as race for talent heats up

China is already ahead of the US in most strategic technology areas, one research institute found, and its success in attracting talented workers is likely to accelerate these efforts. Beijing “has made clear that recruiting is a priority,” The Wall Street Journal wrote. Chinese companies are bombarding tech talent with job offers in hubs like Taiwan, parts of Europe and Silicon Valley. By contrast, bureaucratic hurdles actively deter skilled migration to the US, The Economist wrote: “Though it has the world’s most attractive labour market, [the US] has one of the world’s most dysfunctional immigration systems.” No more than 7% of work-based green cards can go to any one country each year, limiting immigration from more populous nations. If the US wants to dominate in global technology, “a comprehensive overhaul” of how it attracts talent is “essential,” two analysts argued.

Rising anti-immigration sentiment across Europe and the US is likely to threaten the West’s talent supply, upending assumptions “that rich countries will always be able to pick and choose among the most talented people and turn away the rest,” The New York Times wrote. Although cross-border migration will rise this century, the geography of migrant flows is changing, a Bruegel analyst wrote, with Europe set to face increased competition for skilled labor from faster-growing economies, including Gulf countries. Attracting foreign-born talent is key to securing economic growth: As Western birthrates stagnate, societies will age even faster without immigration. “Those countries that manage to hold the line against demands to cut working-age immigration will be in a stronger position economically in the long run,” a Centre for European Reform analyst told the Guardian.