China’s top talent now wants to work for rising domestic tech stars

Molly Liu left her hometown of Beijing to pursue a master’s degree in the United States in the 1990s.

A view of Zhongguancun, Beijing / Photo credit: Wikipedia

After graduation, she fought hard to win an entry-level position at a US-based consultancy, and after a time she was later sent back to China to help the company’s expansion.

In the land of opportunity, the ambitious US firm showered her with avenues to pursue her career. She ended up working in Hong Kong, aside from being one of the first people on the ground for the consultancy in Shanghai, Beijing, Taipei, and Singapore.

Times have changed, though.

Recently, her only son, Ben Zhang, turned down a hard-to-get job offer from a Boeing subsidiary in the US after gaining a master’s degree in computer science from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

He decided to return to Beijing in 2018 and now works as a product manager at Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi. He is convinced that the startup turned tech major can offer him the same sort of opportunities today that the US tech consultancy offered his mother in the 1990s.

Xiaomi’s flagship store in Shenzhen / Photo credit: Xiaomi

This family story about the career choices of two different generations of US-educated Chinese students reflects a wider trend.

Once upon a time, US corporations could cherry-pick top Chinese talent from American universities with the promise of large salaries, generous benefits, and the chance to work at market-leading organizations.

Today, China’s cutting-edge technology companies – often referred to as China Tech Corporations (CTC) – are the most sought-after employers among many Chinese students, who want more than just a cushy life.

This marks another blow for multinational corporations (MNCs) already struggling to do business in China amid a myriad of restrictions and growing hostility towards them as the US-China trade and tech war escalates.

“What I look for in a job is not money. My parents are not counting on me to support them,” says 28-year-old Zhang, whose team in Xiaomi is working on a wide array of connected devices, from televisions to lamps and smart locks. “What I care about most is personal improvement and access to the best resources a company can offer.”