Point is: The best and brightest go where they think their life will be most fulfilling. Up to last year that was California for tech and New York for culture.
By all accounts, you do not get rich in china by work. I work with the most talented Chinese scientists and none of them expects to be wealthy at home, the best hope to be what would be middle class in the US.
Unless they manage to get to the US they return, because they would not be safe from harassment anywhere else.
Scientists in most fields, sure, but that's the case anywhere. If you happen to be an AI expert though, pay at top Chinese companies is very competitive with Silicon Valley.
Also, the structural inequalities of Chinese society dwarf the West, meaning that the Chinese middle class gets a lot more bang for their buck: ridiculously cheap delivery services, taxis, and other services.
Point is: The best and brightest go where they think their life will be most fulfilling. Up to last year that was California for tech and New York for culture.
Even the Chinese think china is oppressive. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tang_ping#:~:text=Tang%20ping%...