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

Abstract

Abstract 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), 33% of the Chinese students were planning to eventually return home. However in the past decade this percentage appears to be increasing. This article uses results from surveys conducted in 2001 and 2005 of Chinese students enrolled at American universities to show that the intention to return home after graduation is indeed rising. Based on logistic regression analysis, the cause behind this rise is shown to be largely driven by the economic opportunities back home, although nationalist sentiment driven by the desire to give back to their homeland is also a prominent factor. The impact of 9/11 on US visa and employment policies was shown to have little effect on Chinese students’ post-graduate plans.