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China should focus on developing original technologies and scientific knowledge and leverage the expertise of scientists returning from the United States, according to a top Chinese-American mathematician.
Yau Shing-Tung retired from Harvard University in 2022 to teach at Tsinghua University and help China become a maths powerhouse.
He said many ethnic Chinese students had been driven away from the US by discrimination from the government, including accusations of misusing American research funds for China’s benefit.
“Chinese scientists have no choice but to leave the US because they work best under a supportive research environment,” he said.
“This exodus is unfortunate for the US as it could diminish its research capabilities. For China, the return of these scientists means it is gaining top talent, but it also results in weakened ties with the US and a loss of first-hand knowledge of advanced technologies.”
An increasing number of leading scientists are leaving the West for Chinese institutions. Yau’s maths centre at Tsinghua in Beijing is one example where top foreign mathematicians have been recruited.
In a survey of 1,300 US-based scientists of Chinese descent conducted between late 2021 and early 2022, 72 per cent of respondents said they did not feel safe as academic researchers. And 61 per cent said they had thought about leaving the United States for either Asian or non-Asian countries.
Despite an overall fearful sentiment, 89 per cent expressed a desire to contribute to the US leadership in science and technology, according to the results published in the peer-reviewed journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2023 by researchers at Princeton University, Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
“Our survey uncovers many Chinese-American scientists’ intention to avoid applying for federal grants out of fear of federal government prosecution under the China Initiative,” the team said, referring to a policy launched in 2018 by then-US president Donald Trump targeting scientists with perceived links to Beijing.
Geopolitical tensions have an impact on the academic environment, Yau said in an interview at Lingnan University in Hong Kong which awarded him an honorary doctorate in science on Thursday.
“The US government has shown serious discrimination against Chinese scientists over the past decade. They face significant challenges when applying for research funds from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health and Department of Defence due to perceptions that they might use American funds to benefit China,” he said.
“Many Chinese scientists eager to contribute to the US feel uncomfortable – although they look up to the US as the world’s centre of science and technology. To make matters worse, some have faced accusations from intelligence agencies of stealing confidential information from the US.”
Yau said to take advantage of the expertise of returning scientists, China needs to foster groundbreaking innovations and creative research for science to grow.
“Elevating academic performance solely based on exams hurts the development of creativity. We need to nurture students and scholars capable of innovating. The country should change its attitude about basing education on standardised tests,” he said.
“If China trains the top 1 per cent of students for creativity, its scientific development could match that of leading countries in a decade, with today’s children becoming the nation’s top scientists,” he said.
“This way China will be able to compete with the US and earn its respect. As China begins to create new technologies and uncover original scientific knowledge, it could become an equal to the US, attracting American scientists who would wish to learn from their Chinese counterparts.”
Yau, who is known for his work on differential geometry, said China’s technological progress had been held up because it relied on advanced tech from the US and due to its copycat approach.
“Originality from China will free it from the chokehold. The US would then start looking into how it can exchange knowledge with China,” he said. “We need to be on the same level for equal exchanges to occur.”