The number of China’s elite scientists who have been trained abroad is falling

Key Points

• The number of elite scientists trained abroad is steadily decreasing, affecting the research output.
• In the past decade, there has been a notable decline of 15% in the number of scientists returning to China after training abroad.
• Observational analysis highlights the impact of changing education policies on the science workforce in China.
• These findings suggest that shifts in training locations may influence China's future competitiveness in global science.