Opinion China has a plan to benefit from anti-immigrant turn in US. India needs one too

The Chinese government has pointed out that unlike other visas, K visas were flexible on the number of permitted entries, validity period and duration of stay. After entering China, these visa holders could engage in exchanges in fields such as education, culture, and science and technology, as well as relevant entrepreneurial and business activities. Importantly, other than fulfilling specific age, educational background and work experience related requirements, K visa applicants were not required to get a formal invitation from a Chinese employer or entity.

What Lies Behind the Move?

The introduction of this new visa category stems from the emphasis on Science and Technology as “primary productive force” at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in October 2022. The CPC Central Committee’s Third Plenum in July 2024 further underlined this, by pressing the need for establishing an internationally competitive talent system. Talent and innovation have been identified by President Xi Jinping as the primary resource and driving force respectively, in China’s high-quality development.

This new visa category is an added component to some existing programmes through which China is seeking to project itself as the hub of global talents in the STEM field. The Thousand Talents Programme (qianren jihua) since 2008 — introduced by then CPC Politburo member Li Yuanchao — was originally operationalised for reverse migration of Chinese scientists, academics and entrepreneurs from the West. It was later expanded to bring foreign nationals into the fold. Attractive financial compensation, along with various kinds of allowances and subsidies were incentives in this endeavour. On the line of the Thousand Talents Programme, China also initiated the Young Thousand Talents for foreign and expat scientists under the age of 40. To be sure, there have also been questions on whether the programmes have been able to attract the intended talent. Further, apprehensions have been raised in Western countries about espionage and intellectual property theft. However, there is evidence to suggest that returnees under the programme have been able to perform better than their overseas peers in terms of publications and research output.

Fuelled by the trade wars and geopolitical competition, the US administration in the first Donald Trump term also set up the China Initiative to scrutinise scientists and technological experts that was disbanded during Biden’s Presidency. Still, in the backdrop of continued cutback to STEM funding by the US, people of Chinese as well as Non-Chinese descent are increasingly (re)locating to Mainland China. This is more visible in sectors such as AI, which have been characterised by Xi as “new productive forces”, or new frontiers of Chinese-style modernisation.

India’s Predicament

The priority accorded to science, technology and innovation by the Chinese Party-state is illustrated in its allocation of 398 billion yuan ($55.72 billion) for science and technology research in the government budget in March this year. In comparison, the allocation for the Department of Science and Technology in India’s Union Budget was Rs 20, 097 crore ($2.35 billion), thus indicating the gulf between either side of the Himalayan gap.

The timing of the new Chinese visa is also interesting in the context of growing protectionism of the Trump administration, witnessed by the changes to the H1B visa programme. The hardening of the US’s stance has further helped China burnish its image and promote itself as a viable option for Indian engineers and tech professionals. Even countries such as the UK and Germany are seeking to be alternate destinations in spite of the domestic opposition to immigration.

This ongoing churn in Indo-US relations is also an opportune time to turn inwards and look at the larger issue of choices and aspirations of the Indian middle class which are tied to upward mobility to the Anglo-American world. The retention of India’s home-grown talent amidst rising global challenges needs re-imagination as an issue of strategic national interest. Greener pastures overseas are no longer the default option for the Indian middle class for careers and employment. The lack of enough Indian public institutions where STEM graduates from Indian higher education institutions are employed is glaring — Indian Space Research Organisation is a relatable reference to the contrary.

All of this underscores the need for serious conversations on the Indian political economy’s current trajectory. The time is nigh for India to make hard yet prudent choices that may bring short-term pains but ensure long-term benefits.

The writer is a Fellow, at Centre of Excellence for Himalayan Studies, Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence, Delhi NCR