In this story, VnExpress International highlights several leading researchers who have made the move.
According to the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, around 20,000 ethnic Chinese scientists left the U.S. between 2010 and 2021. At least 85 rising and established scientists working in the U.S. joined Chinese research institutions full-time in 2024 and 2025.
The Chinese government has for years sought ways to attract global scientific talent, including thousands of researchers who left the country to pursue advanced degrees in the U.S. As the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump pushes to slash research budgets and steps up scrutiny of foreign talent, that effort is receiving a boost.
Chinese universities see changes in the U.S. as “a gift from Trump” that could help them recruit more high-caliber talent, Yu Xie, a sociology professor at Princeton University, told CNN in a 2025 interview.
Tsinghua, ranked first in the 2025 Times Higher Education Asia University rankings, has been among the beneficiaries of the wave of Chinese scientists returning home, attracting several high-profile researchers in recent years.
One of them is Liu Jun, a Harvard professor who joined Tsinghua in 2025. Speaking at the university’s welcome ceremony, Liu said his decision was driven by “a love for education and scientific research, as well as a sense of patriotism,” according to the South China Morning Post.
Here are three of the best-known scientists who have recently returned to China to join Tsinghua.
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Physicist Gao Huajian. Photo courtesy of Tsinghua University |
Physicist Gao Huajian
Gao joined Tsinghua as a full-time chair professor in January 2024 after decades working overseas.
He previously held tenured professorships at Stanford University and Brown University in the U.S., served as a distinguished professor at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, and was director of the Max Planck Institute for Metals Research in Stuttgart, Germany.
