Professor Yipeng Liu publishes research on the Impact of COVID-19 on Talent Mobility in China

The paper, which focuses on European researchers in China and how they have been affected by COVID-19 travel and migration restrictions, was published in a new book titled 'A New World Post COVID-19'. By exploring archive data, interviews and COVID-19 regulations, the paper delves into how previous Chinese government schemes to attract global talent and skilled workers have had to be halted, which has caused a significant knock-on effect on highly skilled talent within the workforce. Both the public and private sector have realised the importance of talent mobility in finding the best person for the job and in the field of academia it is crucial for the flow of knowledge through international collaboration. The paper found out that 47% of China-based European researchers were returning to Europe and nearly two thirds of them had no plans to go back to China once the pandemic ends, which makes it starkly clear that Chinese institutions need to rapidly adapt and to develop new strategies in order to attract global talent in these times of uncertainty.

Professor Liu co-authored this paper with two academics from Roskilde University Denmark: Mikkel Rønnow Mouritzen, PhD Fellow, and Dr Shahamak Rezaei, Associate Professor and Founding CEO of the Centre for Science and Commercial Diplomacy (CSCD). CSCD is a non-profit, non-political NGO that has grown out of extensive experience in diplomacy, business and research as an answer to a growing need for networking and collaborations across borders in an increasingly and rapidly developing global world.

For the Open Access link to the 'COVID-19 and Its Impacts on Talent Mobility in China' chapter, click here. The book can be viewed here. For further reading on talent management, Professor Yipeng Liu edited a Research Handbook of International Talent Management (Edward Elgar, 2019) here.