China’s Got Talent: The Interface of Foreign Affairs and Global Competition for Talent in China’s Scientific Knowledge Production

Chinese talent plans—policies and programs designed to recruit highly skilled individuals, particularly in science and technology (S&T) and higher education (back) to China—have sparked considerable controversy in Western policy and academic debates. Research on these initiatives typically follows two perspectives: examining talent plans as instruments of research productivity and brain circulation in S&T policy, or as vectors for technology transfer and research security risks. While valuable, these approaches tend to overlook the global context of competition for internationally mobile scientists across knowledge-based economies. This article examines how China’s talent plans have evolved to link science policy with migration governance and how this linkage is operationalized across national and subnational levels to attract “foreign talent.” The study draws on Ayelet Shachar’s concept of competitive immigration regimes to analyze talent plans as science–migration policy instruments connecting domestic innovation-driven development with China’s global positioning. Based on thematic analysis of 57 policy documents and 50 academic job advertisements, the findings show that China’s “talent regime,” which extends beyond comparable initiatives in other countries, uniquely combines research funding, extensive individualized incentive packages, and preferential migration pathways to recruit scientists who are expected to contribute to China’s S&T development. At the same time, heightened geopolitical tensions have transformed these programs into sites of diplomatic friction. The fluidity and ongoing responsiveness of talent plans illustrate how science policy, migration governance, and foreign affairs have become deeply intertwined in contemporary China.