Why are top scientists leaving the West for China?

A growing number of leading academics are being tempted away from Western countries as they make the move to Chinese institutions

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Star mathematician Sun Song is one of a growing cohort of academics who are leaving the West to take up positions at Chinese universities. Photo: Zhejiang University

Victoria Bela

Published: 6:00pm, 29 Nov 2024Updated: 3:53pm, 3 Dec 2024

Corrected [3:51pm, 3 Dec, 2024]

[3:51pm, 3 Dec, 2024]
This article has been edited to correct the location of the University of Gothenburg. It is in Sweden, not Germany.

After more than a decade of working in the US, at the start of this year, star geometer Sun Song made the move back to China.

He joined Zhejiang University’s Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics after leaving his most recent post as a professor at the University of California, Berkeley.

Sun, who has been hailed as a strong candidate for the Fields Medal, also known as the “Nobel Prize for mathematics”, said in a university statement that he wanted to help students in China pursue maths, and to pass on his expertise on to a younger generation.

He joined a growing list of world-leading scientists and mathematicians have taken up roles at Chinese universities this year, after relocating from Western countries including the United States, Germany and Australia.

While some have said they were swayed by China’s scientific strength, others have been drawn by the opportunities to take on leading roles to help advance the country’s scientific push.

Both ethnic Chinese researchers and foreign researchers who have joined institutes in China have indicated that its rising academic power – as well as its base of young talent – is a major draw.

Mathematics has seen a particularly high influx of top-level expertise in recent years, which may signal China’s growing competitiveness and influence within the field.