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Circuit of Expertise

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Risky Expertise in Chinese Financialisation

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Abstract

This chapter introduces the concept of circuit of (human) capital. Through an analysis of haigui returnees, it examines how human capital, in its search of value, follows the circular flow of money. It shows how the formation of a “circuit of expertise” (China-Australia-Shanghai as a case study) revolves around credit-debt relationships that tie them to their family and the state. Through rich ethnographic documentation, the chapter shows how the conflicts that haigui face culminate in their resilience and drive for self-realisation at all costs, even at the cost of a thorough redesign of their acquired expertise.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This defines the shift in capitalism in which “profits accrue primarily through financial channels rather than through trade and commodity production ” (Krippner 2005, 174; Aglietta 1999).

  2. 2.

    Interview with Xue, 12 April 2013, Shanghai.

  3. 3.

    Interview with Jin, 23 July 2013, Shanghai.

  4. 4.

    Interview with Xion, 6 June 2013, Shanghai.

  5. 5.

    Interview with Li, 11 August 2013, Shanghai.

  6. 6.

    In 2009 a movie by Liu Guoning, Qianzhai huanqing “Repay a debt with a favour,” is used to describe the socially recognised exchanges of obligations that are not purely economic. In the movie they are portrayed as being extremely popular.

  7. 7.

    Those scholarships funded by China, sponsor students to study in Australia and then return to China; those funded by the Australian government, have been initiated because of a lack of high-skilled labourers and are aim to attract students through the concession of field-specific scholarship. Both countries have knowledge policies that foster the acquisition and development of a competitive pool of knowledge workers on a global scale.

  8. 8.

    In that period, all students after the high school leaving examination first had to compulsory work in factories or on farms for a couple of years before applying for university.

  9. 9.

    In the months before the gaokao , profits soar sky-high from supplements and vitamins like fish-oil, ginseng, and other types of foods that are claimed to improve memory and concentration. Furthermore, hospital and clinics offer “retreats” where students can get hooked up to an oxygen container in the hope of improving their concentration. Restaurants and hotels in close proximity of gaokao schools offer special menus, gyms, and study concentration rooms, and are fully booked years in advance by parents who do not wish to be stuck in traffic the morning of the exams. A few minutes’ delay could result in the student not being admitted into the exam and then the efforts of a whole year would be lost. Moreover, wealthy parents promise their children they will receive expensive rewards like an Audi, a trip to Europe, or a thousand-Euro Gucci bag to encourage them to study hard (see China Daily 2013).

  10. 10.

    Research has for instance documented the living conditions and lack of opportunities for students who attend a second or third tier university in China. These have been described using the neologism the “ant tribe” (yizu ), that is, students squeezed into dormitories in Chinese universities. See Si (2009).

  11. 11.

    Interview with Ling, 12 April 2013, Shanghai.

  12. 12.

    The peak of students travelling to Australia occurred after the Tiananmen Square protest in 1989 because the Australian government granted protection to Chinese students in Australia.

  13. 13.

    Foreign students in Australian universities typically need to spend at least 300,000 yuan per year (AUD 60,430) on tuition fees and living expenses.

  14. 14.

    Unlike local students, who can have their tuition subsidised or delayed through government funding, foreign students are usually required to pay full fees upfront, contributing a significant portion of the revenue of Australian universities every year with more than 4000 Chinese students and 20,000 Chinese alumni. The University of Sydney, in particular, already has a close relationship with China. The University has established the China Studies Centre, which directs Chinese studies and interacts with business, government and activities in both China and Australia. While some have said the university is lowering its admission standards to attract more student fees from China, the university says this is not the case (University of Sydney 2012).

  15. 15.

    Interview with Xiu, 6 June 2013, Shanghai.

  16. 16.

    Interview with Lan, 14 September 2013, Shanghai.

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  1. Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

    Giulia Dal Maso

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Dal Maso, G. (2020). Circuit of Expertise. In: Risky Expertise in Chinese Financialisation. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-6824-4_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-6824-4_4

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