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The report clearly states that “the United States’ R&D system and its international competitiveness rely heavily on foreign-born scientists and engineers, especially those with doctoral degrees in high-level positions.”
According to specific data, in 2021, foreign-born scientists and engineers accounted for about 19% of all science and engineering workers in the United States. Among those holding doctoral degrees in science and engineering, this proportion rose significantly to approximately 43%. In the fields of computer and mathematical sciences, foreign-born PhD holders made up nearly 58%.
India and China are the two largest sources of foreign-born science and engineering workers, accounting for 29% and 12%, respectively. Regarding this trend, Divyansh Kaushik from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) stated:
“Our reliance on foreign talent, especially an overdependence on talent from strategic competitors such as China and India, is a double-edged sword. It drives our technological progress but also exposes our vulnerabilities.”
At the same time, the report observes that global research and innovation capabilities continue to rise. In the long-term trend, the center of science and engineering resources and activities is gradually shifting toward East and Southeast Asia, particularly China.
Although the United States still maintains dominance in health science publications as well as chemistry and instrumentation patents, China has already become the country awarding the largest number of science and engineering doctorates. It is also the largest producer of scientific and engineering publications and international patent applications.
Data shows that between 2018 and 2021, more than one-third of science and engineering doctorates awarded in the United States were earned by individuals on temporary visas. Among these foreign students, nearly three-quarters came from China and India.
The report also notes a notable trend among Chinese students studying abroad in recent years: an increasing number choose to return to China after completing their overseas education. According to data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics, the ratio of returning overseas graduates to those studying abroad was around 0.5 in 2010. However, by 2019, this ratio had risen to above 0.8.
In response to this global shift in talent mobility, the U.S. National Science Board calls for increased national investment in training domestic STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) workers. However, the policy brief still emphasizes that:
“Foreign-born talent has been, and continues to be, a key pillar of America’s strength in STEM.”
Kaushik noted that the U.S. response should be “multi-faceted, balancing the attraction of the world’s brightest talent with the cultivation of domestic talent capable of leading the next wave of innovation.”
