This week on Sinica, I chat with David Zweig, a veteran China scholar who is Professor Emeritus from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. We discuss Davis'd latest book, The War for Chinese Talent in America, which looks at Chinese efforts to harness the intellectual firepower of Chinese scientists and engineers who studied abroad, especially in the United States, and bring them — or at least their knowledge —back to China. David's book takes a balanced look at both the very real problems generated by Chinese policies as well as the overreaction by the U.S. Department of Justice in the form of the infamous China Initiative.

3:40 – Why got David interested on this particular topic

7:07 – The diaspora option

12:09 – The Thousand Talents Program/Plan

18:28 – How the talent programs operate

23:48 – Motivations for Chinese to participate in the talent programs, how geopolitics now impacts these decisions, and what the effect of the China Initiative has been on collaboration

36:29 – The China Initiative’s climate of fear and the concern for racial profiling

49:40 – The extent of the validity of U.S. security concerns

57:24 – David’s suggestions for balancing national security interests and open scientific exchange

Paying It Forward: Dan Lynch and his book, China’s Futures: PRC Elites Debate Economics, Politics, and Foreign Policy

Recommendations:

David: It’s a Wonderful World — The Louis Armstrong Musical in New York

Kaiser: The Invention of Yesterday: A 50,000-Year History of Human Culture, Conflict, and Connection by Tamim Ansary, especially the audiobook read by the author

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