China struggles to recruit foreign AI researchers despite push
China’s efforts to attract foreign artificial intelligence researchers have fallen short, according to a new study by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The study, which analyzed research papers accepted by last year’s NeurIPS conference, found that for every 30 Chinese researchers working on AI in the United States, only one in China made the opposite journey.
The findings come despite China introducing a visa for scientists and offering lucrative research grants over the past two years. The study also noted that the number of Chinese scientists working in the United States has risen rather than declined, even amid heightened tensions between the two countries.
Local talent retention improves
While China struggles to recruit foreign researchers, the study found it is seeing success in retaining local talent. Chinese researchers who have risen through the domestic education system are increasingly choosing not to seek work overseas. Peking University and Tsinghua University were among the top institutions publishing papers at NeurIPS last year, eclipsing American heavyweights like MIT and Stanford.
Chinese researchers made up 41% of published authors at NeurIPS last year, compared to 34% for US researchers. The number of top 30 institutions based in China publishing at the conference rose from six in 2022 to 12 in 2025.
Why foreign researchers stay away
Despite China’s new offers of visas and grant money, Silicon Valley still provides more attractive offers and investment opportunities for American researchers, according to Kevin Xu, founder of Interconnected Capital. He also noted that moving to a country with few immigrants and a different language is a challenge. “For everybody else who’s outside the walled garden, culturally or digitally, it’s still very hard to break into,” Xu said.
The study’s lead author, Damien Ma, said the number of Chinese-origin researchers working in the US rose by 4 percentage points compared with three years ago. However, Yingyi Ma, a sociology professor at Syracuse University, cautioned that the data may reflect decisions made years ago, before recent visa restrictions and research funding cuts.
What this means for HR and recruiting teams
For HR and recruiting professionals, the study highlights a shifting global talent landscape. Chinese AI researchers are increasingly staying home, drawn by well-funded universities, big tech companies, and startups like DeepSeek and Moonshot. This means US employers may face a smaller pool of Chinese AI talent in the future.
At the same time, China’s difficulty in attracting foreign researchers suggests that cross-border recruitment remains challenging. HR teams looking to hire AI talent from China may find that candidates are less willing to relocate, while those seeking to recruit in China may face competition from local employers. Rules and restrictions on travel and work visas vary by jurisdiction, so employers should stay informed about current regulations.
Government restrictions and returning talent
The Chinese government has also restricted some AI entrepreneurs and researchers from leaving the country, according to a recent Bloomberg report. This year, the government prevented the two founders of AI startup Manus from leaving after Meta planned to acquire the company for US$2bil.
Despite these restrictions, China has made some gains in encouraging Chinese researchers and executives abroad to return. Tencent last year appointed Yao Shunyu, a former OpenAI researcher, as its chief AI scientist. The move was seen as a notable example of an AI researcher returning to China after studying and working in the West.
Sources: The Star
