While China continues to lead two-way trade with the US and expects to ring up another $100 billion surplus this year, it's running a significant deficit when it comes to attracting human resources.
This despite toughening immigration rules in the US and attractive incentives offered by China.
The US cautiously court two types of potential émigrés that China would prefer they stay home.
Yu Xue is typical of the traditional émigré to the US. She earned a degree from the University of San Francisco and is hoping to stay abroad if she can find a job. She's young, fluently bilingual, willing to work hard and is already pretty much a part of the US melting pot.
A Beijing publisher is representative of a new wave of immigrant to the US. She spent this past summer in the US fulfilling her residency obligations, and is hoping to buy her way into a new life. She has forked over half a million dollars for her conditional "green card" even though she is struggling with English, and her husband has no intention of learning the language.
While Yu is willing to achieve the American Dream by her own means, her "category" of immigrant is being stifled by both the US recession and a political climate that has seemingly pulled away the welcome mat.
The publisher, who is making the move for her son's future and what she perceives is added security for her fortune, has joined a group of China's wealthy who mainly need only prove their money was earned through legitimate means.
It's a lot different process for Yu who earned her degree in finance in August. "Finding a job here is the first thing I need if I want to stay," said Yu, 28, who comes from Chengdu, Sichuan Province.
"Many banks won't hire [foreigners] even if we are better qualified than Americans because of a deal they made with the government when it bailed them out," Yu told the Global Times, referring to promises extracted from financial institutions to hire American citizens.
9800 green cards a year
The US quota system for skilled worker immigrants provides a maximum of 9800 "green cards" a year to citizens of any one nation.
With more than 100,000 Chinese students now studying in the US, the controversial country quota is putting Chinese applicants on impossibly long waiting list.
While Yu appears stuck in a logjam of a torrent of applicants in her category, it's been smooth sailing for China's wealthy who have enough cash to jump ship.
"I want my son to grow up in a society with more diverse cultures and values," said a Beijing investor immigrant who intends to enroll her 11-year-old son in a US high school next year.
"Children his age in China are deprived of their childhood. I want to give my son more options in life so he can make his own decision about what he wants to do," she told the Global Times, on condition that her name is not used in print.
China is by far the largest source country for wealthy immigrants to the US. Last year the US issued 772 investor immigrant visas to Chinese applicants, accounting for 41 percent of all investor immigrants.
Zhaolong Immigration consultant Catherine He (she asked that only her English given name be used) says the number of wealthy investor immigrants has jumped sharply this year for two reasons.
He says her business is up 30 percent over the last two months alone in part due to expected changes to regulations expected September next year. Many of her clients are worried the changes may make it tougher for immigrant investors and the current rush of applicants are hoping there's still time to qualify under the current rules.
The other reason applications are up is because there are simply many more wealthy people who have the money to buy a different passport.
A recent survey of wealthy Chinese revealed a trend that one Chinese newspaper termed "an oil well blowout" of investor applicants that are willing to throw money at the opportunity to set up a home abroad.
"We don't care about return! Just tell us if we will get the green card or not," said one impatient wealthy applicant who was quoted by National Business Daily.
A survey of 980 Chinese people with assets of over 10 million yuan ($1.6 million) conducted by Hurun Report and Bank of China (BOC) in October found that 50 percent of those interviewed were considering emigrating overseas. Fourteen percent of those interviewed have already obtained citizenship of a foreign country or were going through the immigration process.
With a relatively lower capital requirement and shorter wait times, the US has become the first choice for China's wealthy.
Immigration consultant He said most immigrant applicants she helps say they are doing it for their children.
"An (immigrant investor) visa opens the door to better education for their children plus there's the prospect of getting US citizenship. Half a million dollars isn't that much. It's about the same as the cost of a home in Beijing. More than a few people can afford that," she said.
"Entrepreneurs moving their assets outside China should be a wakeup call for China, especially with the numbers on the rise," said Chen Hewu, a Beijing consultant.
According to the Hurun-BOC report, one third of China's dollar millionaires already own assets outside the country. The report estimates about 112 billion yuan has flowed down the immigrant investor drain into the US.
In its July edition Phoenix Magazine estimated that 10 to 20 billion yuan are being funneled out of the country every year by wealthy Chinese.
Although wealthy Chinese pour significant amounts of their disposable cash into other countries, many aren't planning on permanent moves overseas.
Photo: CFP.
Seeking security
"The immigrants want security for their fortunes, something they believe a green card gives them. Most will continue to live and do business in China, and contribute to China's economic growth," Chen said.
Even the immigrant investor program is focused on jobs for Americans. Applicants are required to deposit $500,000 in the US with an approved US company that they choose from a list. That company must guarantee to create 10 jobs for US citizens. If after 21 months a review finds the jobs haven't been created, the applicant can have their green card revoked and their deposit is lost.
While the buy-a-citizenship program to the US appears to be booming, applications from skilled and educated workers remain backlogged and could be for a decline.
China is perceived by some politicians in the US as part of the cause for their country's economic decline and high unemployment rate, even though employers in some industries are begging for skilled workers. Chinese student there are being forced to return home as soon as their studies are completed.
That's exactly what China seems to want. It has established a series of incentives to attract skilled workers who have their green cards or US citizenship.
The government is supporting Chinese companies in their efforts to lure skilled workers known as "haigui" (literally meaning sea turtles) to return to the land of their birth.
China doesn't allows its citizens to hold dual citizenship, and maintaining visas and registering with authorities can be a hassle for former Chinese nationals who have switched allegiance to another country. While many may want to return they also don't want to give up their new passports.
Under a recruitment program sanctioned by a high-level committee of the Communist Party of China, highly skilled Chinese who return home can receive permanent residency, or hukou, in the city of their choice. They can also qualify for a 1 million yuan tax-free cash allowance and their family members automatically qualify for permanent resident status.
China grants permanent residency to foreign passport holders only grudgingly, said Li Hai, project manager of a human resources information center for a central government agency that oversees the employment of highly skilled foreigners.
Li told the Global Times that authorities are working on new legislation that may help China attract top talent to return to China and non Chinese who are serious about settling in the country. "When China lays out its immigration rules, it only wants to attract elite workers," said Li.
"China is quietly fighting a talent war with the US and while it keeps its future plans low-key, the race is on. After all, in critical areas if you don't have talent, you don't have anything," he said.
Consultant Chen said highly skilled workers could soon have the best of both worlds. "Highly skilled workers are still going to advanced countries, but rapid growth in emerging countries, like China, is creating a great need for talent. It is not a one-way street any more."
A number of big US companies have also realized that forcing well-educated foreign students to go home is letting a valuable resource slip through their fingers. Not only do many foreign students have skills that are often in high demand, when they return home they are often snapped up by competitors.
Perhaps that's why Facebook's chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg was quoted as saying that US universities "should be stapling a visa to every high-tech diploma it issues to non-US students."
A change in the political climate in the US is exactly what foreign-student graduates like Yu are hoping for. She would at least like the right to compete in the job market in the country that helped educate her and she's tired of living in limbo.
"What's important now is a solid base where I can start building a future," said Yu.