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China Chases Silicon Valley Talent Who Are Worried About Trump Presidency (cnbc.com)

China is trying to capitalize on President-elect Donald Trump's hardline immigration stance and vow to clamp down on a foreign worker visa program that has been used to recruit thousands from overseas to Silicon Valley. From a report on CNBC: Leading tech entrepreneurs, including Robin Li, the billionaire CEO of Baidu, China's largest search engine, see Trump's plans as a huge potential opportunity to lure tech talent away from the United States. The country already offers incentives of up to $1 million as signing bonuses for those deemed "outstanding" and generous subsidies for start-ups. Meanwhile, the Washington Post last month reported on comments made by Steve Bannon, who is now the president-elect's chief strategist, during a radio conversation with Trump in Nov. 2015. Bannon, the former Breitbart.com publisher, indicated that he didn't necessarily agree with the idea that foreign talent that goes to school in America should stay in America. "When two-thirds or three-quarters of the CEOs in Silicon Valley are from South Asia or from Asia, I think ...," Bannon said, trailing off. "A country is more than an economy. We're a civic society."

9 of 416 comments (clear)

  1. Re:This works for me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    China's welcome to flood their job market with cheap labor and devalue their Middle Class

    Did you read the fucking summary even? $1 million signing bonuses are not cheap labor.

  2. Re:This works for me by Austerity+Empowers · · Score: 3, Informative

    $1 million signing bonuses are not cheap labor.

    Those aren't for the average H1B, in fact probably not for H1B's at all. Those are for top tier talent, possibly white americans to basically export their knowledge and kickstart their startups. "Hey, I have money and labor, come make your idea work."

    This isn't for the guy they brought in to break your exchange server and fix it for money, or write a horribly bad OS for Microsoft. They'll take them too if they're indeed cheap, but it's unclear that the labor arbitrage situation will work out well for this.

  3. China's Trump is named Xi by Dr.Saeuerlich · · Score: 4, Informative

    Are you afraid that your country might become an authoritarian police state? Here's the solution: move to a country that IS an authoritarian police state!

    Pretty much everything people fear that Trump may do to the US is already reality in China, including no due process, no elections, censorship, heavy use of fossil fuels, assertive foreign policies, leader worship, nationalism and a Make China Great agenda. The only thing China has going is that there's no data caps - so maybe it's interesting if you're stuck with Comcast.

    1. Re:China's Trump is named Xi by TheSync · · Score: 3, Informative

      China has 1,448 naturalised Chinese in total. Almost no foreigners are able to become citizens (source).

      Even Japan, better known for hostility to immigration, naturalises around 10,000 new citizens each year; in America the figure is some 700,000.

      If you aren't Han, you are in trouble in China.

  4. Re:This works for me by NetNed · · Score: 4, Informative

    Also if you RTFA the stipulation for the $1 million is that you are a Nobel Prize winner. Other thing that stood out in the article was this Li made that announcement at a "state sponsored speech" which translates to propaganda last time I checked.

  5. demagogic nationalistic mercantilist nonsense by Jodka · · Score: 4, Informative

    While it's not an exact match, Trump and Bannon are best described as mercantalist. Mercantilism is an antiquated and discredited economic theory and practice largely abandoned in Europe after the 18th century.

    Among the flaws in that system is that it trades visible gains for hidden losses. (Over at the National Review, Kevin D. Williamson cites Frédéric Bastiat on that point in a great analysis of Trump's Carrier deal). An interesting thing about China luring away talent is that it draws attention to that loss of talent, making it less hidden.

    --
    Ceci n'est pas une signature.
  6. Fake News by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Informative

    You, of course, fell for the fake news. But your side was saying it, so it's true. Trump has never been anti-immigration. He realize the difference between legal and illegal immigration. The next Musk will not be an illegal immigrant. But keep spouting your bullshit.

  7. Re:Fake news? by ITRambo · · Score: 5, Informative

    China is now a one party capitalistic country run by engineers, not lawyers. They don't have free healthcare. People need to work to make a living. It's like a condensed version of the US, without freedom of speech. One thing it's not any more is a truly communist country. Their one party just happens to still call themselves the communist party. Within that one party are different viewpoints that are discussed. It's not your father's China anymore.

  8. Re:This works for me by rholtzjr · · Score: 4, Informative

    Geez, really!!!, have you looked at the definition of demagogue? This describes EVERY politician running for or already in office. To continue to state this shows just how much you have been brainwashed by the media.