According to statistics from a panel under the central authorities that formulates China's talent attraction programs, among all countries, China suffers from the worst deficit in terms of high-caliber professionals, with 87 percent of its top-level scientists and engineers working abroad rather than at home.

With a doctor's degree in public policy and management from Carnegie Mellon University, Xue Lan, Dean of the School of Public Policy and Management of Tsinghua University, worked at George Washington University as an assistant professor before returning to China in 1996.

Xue, who was lured back to China by the opportunity to observe, study and influence China's grand social transition, admitted that compared with his generation of returning teaching staff in Tsinghua, younger returnees, who account for half of his school's full-time lecturers, face much more pressure.

Xue said that when he started to teach at Tsinghua in 1996, the university provided him with free accommodation in a studio of less than 50 square meters. He was given a newer and larger apartment soon after while his old studio was given to new returnees.

"Teaching staff at institutions of higher learning are underpaid in China compared with their foreign counterparts. Housing prices in Beijing have skyrocketed in the last few years, which means that these young lecturers cannot afford an apartment in Beijing, reducing well-qualified professionals' enthusiasm for coming back," Xue told China Youth Daily.

Xue said that many overseas students want to join China's civil service after obtaining a master's or doctor's degree in public policy and management abroad. However, their lack of knowledge about national conditions put them in a disadvantageous position during civil service exams, which reduces their chance of making full use of their knowledge.

Zhou, the integrated circuit designer in Shenzhen, also complained that the relatively low income in China scare many qualified engineers away. Zhou commented that fresh graduates from his major can earn three to five times more in the United States than in the largest cities in China. Moreover, staying abroad means more opportunities to keep their knowledge and skills up to date, as China still lags behind in the technology sector in general, he said.

In September, China Youth Daily published results of a survey among 1,223 professionals with overseas studying experience. While answering what holds Chinese students from coming back, 71.4 percent cited "relatively low income" as a major career development disadvantage, 60.3 percent cited "unfavorable career development prospects," and 49.7 percent cited "lack of opportunities to use their knowledge."

Fully aware of the situation, governments at central and local levels have both initiated programs geared at bringing talented people back from outside.

Recruiting exceptional scientists and engineers from abroad is listed as one of the 12 programs that comprise China's National Medium- and Long-term Talent Development Plan (2010-20). Released in June 2010, the plan is a blueprint for creating a highly skilled workforce within the next 10 years.

China has launched more than a dozen national programs aimed at attracting top scientists and engineers from around the world to conduct innovative research or start up businesses in China.

The 1,000 Talents Program, officially known as the Recruitment Program of Global Experts, was launched in 2008 and is aimed at enticing around 2,000 accomplished scientists to work in China within the next five to 10 years.

The Central Government provides each person in the program with a lump-sum award of 1 million yuan ($164,000) as well as research grants or incentives to start up their own companies. On top of this, these talented professionals are given preferential treatment in medical care, housing, and for foreign nationals, permanent residency and multi-entry visas.

As of the beginning of this year, the program has enrolled 3,319 people across nine intakes.

Similar initiatives have been launched at a local level by provincial and city governments as well as science parks around the country, which have lured back more than 20,000 highly trained scientists and engineers from abroad.

Kong Jingjing, chief of the Overseas Business Division of Zhaopin.com, one of China's leading job websites, said that many government-sponsored programs aimed at attracting top-notch professionals from abroad fail to target the correct age group.

Many governments only seek people with senior titles, which often limit their headhunting to those aged above 45, Kong said, adding that these senior managers or engineers usually have children who are about to start higher education abroad and are reluctant to separate from their families.

"Capable young people yearning for opportunities to kick-start their career are more likely to come back and it is they that need a platform," Kong said.

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