Abstract
At a time when China faces daunting challenges both at home and abroad, Chinese leadership is in great need of the expertise, skills, and knowledge of foreign-educated Chinese nationals. Based on an empirical study of senior officials in three important leadership bodies in China, this article shows that the percentage of returnees appointed to high-level leadership positions is small. Meanwhile, the top leadership has frequently solicited advice from returnee-led think tanks affiliated with China’s major universities. This dynamic interaction between political power and academic prowess, between national interest and transnational perspective, is a fascinating development in China today.
À une époque où la Chine affronte des défis de taille, tant sur le plan domestique qu’à l’échelle internationale, le leadership du pays a un besoin pressant pour l’expertise, les habiletés et les connaissances des ressortissants chinois éduqués à l’étranger. Puisant dans une étude empirique auprès de fonctionnaires de rang élevé dans trois organismes dirigeantes importantes en Chine, cet article démontre que le taux de rapatriés nommés à des postes de leadership de rang élevé est bas. Toutefois, les dirigeants de haut niveau ont souvent fait appel aux groupes de réflexion dirigés par des rapatriés et associés aux grandes universités chinoises. Cette interaction dynamique entre le pouvoir politique et l’expertise académique, l’intérêt national et la perspective transnationale, représente un développement intriguant dans la Chine d’aujourd’hui.
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Li, C. Foreign-educated returnees in the people’s Republic of China: Increasing political influence with limited official power. Int. Migration & Integration 7, 493–516 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02934906
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02934906