All of the statements in this article are based on reliable sources and are reproduced at the end of this article
Preface
In today's world, the competition between China and the United States is becoming more and more intense, but the mainland seems to be always chasing the pace of the United States.
Dr. Qiu Zhenhai, an expert on mainland transformation and strategic issues, pointed out that the key to the gap between China and the United States is talent, and China selects talents from 1.4 billion, while the United States is 7.7 billion!
The revitalization of the country depends on talents, but China often faces the dilemma of brain drain, what are the deep-seated reasons behind this?
Where is the gap between China and the United States?
With a population of 1.4 billion and millions of new students every year, China is home to a large number of talented people.
The mainland's college entrance examination is known as the fairest examination system in the world, and every year, millions of students are admitted to the best universities in the country through their own efforts, becoming the backbone of society.
However, it is a pity that many of China's "top students" choose to stay overseas, and the root cause is that there are obvious gaps in many fields between the United States and China.
From the perspective of national strength, the United States is undoubtedly the world's leading power, and its economic development conditions far exceed those of China, and it will take long-term and unremitting efforts to catch up with the United States.
In terms of GDP, China's GDP will reach 126 trillion yuan in 2023, an increase of 5.2% over the previous year, and its per capita GDP will be close to 90,000 yuan, while the total GDP of the United States in 2023 will be more than 27 trillion US dollars, and the per capita GDP will be as high as 82,000 US dollars.
Judging from these figures, there is still a big gap between China and the United States, both in terms of the overall strength of the country and the state of the individual economy.
From the perspective of national culture, the mainland has been deeply influenced by Confucianism since ancient times, and has always advocated collectivism and community harmony, while American culture is centered on heroism and individualism, whether through film and television works or literary books, this cultural difference is obvious.
Since the Second Industrial Revolution, the United States has developed at an astonishing rate, and for nearly a hundred years, the world seems to be living in the shadow of America's great national power.
Therefore, not only our country, but many people around the world see the United States as a role model, believing that the United States is more powerful and developed than their own country, and this perception constantly promotes the "flow" of talent to the United States.
Another issue that cannot be ignored is the difference between the Chinese and American academies, in the United States, as long as you have real talent and can carry out technological innovation, your talents and achievements will be widely recognized and respected by your peers and even the society, whether it is your predecessors or peers.
In stark contrast, there is still a problem of "seniority in terms of seniority" in China, and it is difficult for many truly talented young people to receive corresponding attention and development because they have no background.
In such an environment, they gradually lost their self-confidence and enthusiasm, and finally had no choice but to choose to join foreign scientific research institutions that pay more attention to their capabilities and achievements, thus forming a vicious circle that is not conducive to the development of domestic science.
The U.S. higher education system is widely regarded as one of the most developed and high-quality in the world, with 28 universities ranked in the top 100 in the world, which makes the U.S. a strong appeal.
In addition to abundant educational resources, the United States also attracts top talents from all over the world with its generous salary package, sufficient scientific research funding and sound promotion mechanism.
The mainland's basic education pays more attention to English education and has more liberal arts majors, while the United States pays more attention to the cultivation of science and engineering.
These disciplines are the foundation of many high-tech fields, and China's education system is relatively lacking in this area, which further encourages more Chinese students to choose to study abroad.
Although China produces a large number of science and engineering graduates every year, Chinese rarely win awards in international science and technology, indicating that there is still a long way to go in the full rise of core science and technology fields.
The United States' advantage determines that it is far more competitive internationally than other countries, and it is really sad that it has the ability to attract global talent to the United States.
Some netizens also said: The most terrifying thing is that we have screened several times from the population of 1.4 billion, and the United States has enjoyed the success and selected more outstanding people from the excellent talents.
However, we do not need to be presumptuous: our country is far behind the United States, and it has not yet been 50 years of reform and opening up, but our country has already made such proud achievements, and even surpassed the United States in some aspects.
Especially in the field of science and technology, China has made breakthroughs in many key technologies, such as the semiconductor industry, artificial intelligence and 5G communication technology, which have not only enhanced China's international status, but also injected strong impetus into domestic innovation and development.
Chinese Genius
Cao Yuan, a rising star in the international scientific community, an outstanding expert in the field of electronics and mechanics, has been praised as the top scientific figure of the year by the famous scientific journal Nature.
Born in 1996, he joined the junior class of USTC at the age of 14, and then went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to study for a master's degree and a doctorate, during which he explored and discovered the magic-angle superconductivity effect of graphene, opening up a whole new field of distortion electronics.
Cao Yuan's mentor, Professor Pablo Herrero, gave him great trust in providing the best quality laboratory equipment, allowing him to participate in cutting-edge research projects, and publishing high-level academic papers.
Driven by his passion for scientific exploration, Cao Yuan chose a place that would provide him with broader resources, support, and development opportunities, and he worked hard to pursue his scientific dreams, and finally decided to take up a teaching position in the United States, which is a very embarrassing choice.
Xu Chenyang is a post-80s generation, a native of Chongqing, was admitted to the National Mathematics Training Team because of his talent in mathematics in middle school, and was invited to Peking University in 1999.
In 2006, he applied for a Ph.D. from Princeton University, and in 2013 he decided to return to China to contribute to his homeland and join the faculty of Peking University.
During his tenure at Peking University, he overcame world-class problems and won many awards, however, in 2018, he chose to leave Peking University and teach in the United States.
The decision sparked outrage and skepticism, and Mr. Xu, who was accused of flattering foreigners and turned his back on his homeland, said goodbye by clarifying why he was traveling to the United States and revealing the deeper reasons for China's inability to retain talent.
He pointed out that there is a general phenomenon of seniority in the domestic promotion system, and many years of experience, a large number of papers published and a series of award-winning records have become a necessary condition for authority, and in some award selections, personal connections have almost become a necessary element.
The academic environment has become more and more impetuous, and many people rush to publicize research before the results are available, often for the sake of fame and fortune, rather than really digging deeper.
How to change the brain drain
In today's era of increasingly fierce global competition, the mainland needs to attract more high-level talents to promote scientific and technological innovation and enhance the country's core competitiveness.
Scientific and technological innovation is very important for China, it is not only related to the country's economic development, but also related to national security and social stability, so how to attract and retain high-level talents has become an urgent problem for China to solve.
Universities and research institutes should increase financial support for scientific research as much as possible, and encourage enterprises and other social capital to invest in scientific research to jointly promote scientific and technological innovation.
Improving the intellectual property protection system is also an important means to attract high-level talents, crack down on illegal acts of infringing intellectual property rights, and make scientific researchers full of confidence in their scientific research results.
The mainland should carry out targeted personnel training so that researchers can fully tap their potential in their own specialties, increase their salaries and benefits, and make them feel respected and recognized.
It is necessary to improve the level of social security, provide high-quality education and medical services, and provide a livable living environment and facilities, so that scientific research personnel can devote themselves to scientific research with peace of mind.
The boom of overseas students returning to China
From 2020 to May 2023, it is estimated that nearly 4,000 scientists have returned to their homeland and chosen to return to China for research purposes.
Among these people, there are not only outstanding students from their own countries, but also many outstanding people from abroad, including Shuji Nakamura, a Japanese-American scientist who won the Nobel Prize in physics.
Another example is the Taiwanese compatriot Lee Kai-fu, who has lived in the United States for nearly 50 years and earned 27 US dollars from Americans, and the Americans like him very much and even persuade him to change to American citizenship, but he did not waver and returned to the motherland with his own business.
As soon as he returned, there was a boom of entrepreneurs returning to China, and hundreds of companies followed in his footsteps and came back to build the country together.
epilogue
Now that we are still far from the United States, we need to generously accept this reality, face the shortcomings, and improve on them.
I firmly believe that in the future, we will be more willing to stay in China, and we also need to introduce more and more outstanding foreign people to China, so that they can feel the academic atmosphere of China and improve the technical level of the mainland.
If you have different opinions, please leave a message in the comment area!
Information sources:
China's Internet Culture—"Where Is the Gap Between China and the United States?" Professor Qiu Zhenhai: China is selecting talents among 1.4 billion people, and the United States is selecting talents among more than 7 billion people! China cannot retain talents!
China Economic Weekly - China's overseas brain drain of nearly 800,000 elites is the largest in the world
Phoenix.com - Qiu Zhenhai: Peking University Tsinghua University has become a "training class" for famous universities in Europe and the United States