On May 22, 2018, the Ministry of Science and Technology of China issued guidelines that support science ministries and commissions to consult foreign experts and attract non-Chinese scientists to full-time positions in China. Declaring the country’s goal to “deeply engage foreign talents” in its major research programs at all levels, the announcement said that non-Chinese scientists not only are welcomed to participate in research projects funded by the Chinese government, but also will have the opportunity to lead such projects as their principal investigators via “open and fair competition”, or could even play a role in the management and designing of national programs at very high levels.
“The new policy shows that the Chinese government is embracing international collaboration as a key to its innovation ambition, using science as a gateway,” commented WEN Ke, executive director of the Division of Innovation and Development Policy, Institute of Science and Development under CAS. It is likely that the move will soon be reflected in areas such as life and environment sciences, she said, where there are a lot of common scientific challenges to tackle.
In 2010, stem cell researcher Miguel Esteban from the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, CAS became the first non-Chinese scientist to lead a major scientific research project in China as its principal investigator with a grant of 28 million yuan (4.4 million US dollars).
By far, Italian particle physicist Rinaldo Baldini has been working at the Beijing Electron Positron Collider’s BESIII Experiment for some years. “This collider produces 1,000 times more particles than I had studied, and there were plenty of open questions I would—and did—find the answer here,” he told BCAS. “I like a lot my work and to stay in Beijing. I like Chinese people and the food.”
But Baldini also found it difficult, if not impossible, to find a foreign newspaper in the city. “Beijing needs improvement to become an international city, where a foreigner may feel closer to their home,” he said.
At the moment, most foreign scientists only pay brief visits to China instead of coming to do research on a long-term basis. The Ministry’s document indicated a profound shift in the emphasis of China’s talent recruitment policy, from luring only Chinese to both Chinese and non-Chinese—for them to come and stay. With several million to tens of million yuan worth of start-up funding, which is significantly higher than a scientist can expect even from the US or Europe, they have the chance of becoming part, or leader, of many exciting, world-level projects going on in China.