Headwinds make it harder for overseas returnees to enter the system: experts analyze the causes.

Overseas graduates from prestigious universities were once a popular choice for selecting civil servants in various regions of China, but in recent years, returnee students have gradually been excluded. This year, provinces like Beijing and Guangdong have closed the doors on returnees in their selection process. Experts say this reflects the deepening concerns of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) towards the outside world, signaling a shift towards a more closed-off China.

According to reports from mainland Chinese media, nearly 60 overseas universities, including Harvard University, Stanford University, University of Chicago, University of Cambridge, and University of Oxford, have collectively disappeared from the selection pool in the 2025 recruitment announcements in Guangdong Province. Only graduates from certain domestic universities are eligible to apply.

In the recruitment announcements for Shandong Province in 2025, the target selection for both directed and regular appointments has removed the mention of “graduates from foreign universities or overseas institutions.”

In Shanxi Province, the scope of targeted selection has been reduced over the years. In 2022, the recruitment included 94 overseas institutions, which decreased to less than 70 in 2023, and in 2024, no graduates from overseas institutions were recruited.

This year in Beijing, directed recruitment no longer accepts international students. Additionally, the “Excellent Training Program,” which previously only required graduates from universities ranked in the top 100 by the Academic Ranking of World Universities in 2024 to apply, now stipulates that undergraduate degrees of international students must be obtained from specified domestic universities (disciplines).

Selection of civil servants refers to the annual selection of recent graduates from universities by various provincial organization departments to work at the grassroots level, as key candidates for training future party and government leaders. Their treatment and promotion prospects are better than those who enter through general civil service exams. Selected candidates are divided into general selection and directed selection. General selections are mostly assigned to grassroots units such as towns and streets, while directed selection candidates are often placed in county, municipal, or even provincial government agencies.

Compared to the civil service exams, the selection process for these candidates is based on higher political standards. For instance, in provinces like Henan, eligibility for selection includes being a CCP member, having served as a student cadre for over a year, received awards above the school level, or having military enlistment experience during university.

However, just a year ago in October 2023, official Chinese media outlet “Chinese News Weekly” reported that several provincial-level administrative regions including Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Guangdong, Shandong, Sichuan, and Henan were open to directed selection for returning students. The wind has since shifted in the opposite direction.

Professor Xie Tian from the Business School at the University of South Carolina stated to Voice of America that those selected for these roles are deliberately nurtured, making them a seed of communism for the CCP. These individuals often have backgrounds, connections, or special privileges that ordinary people who become civil servants through general exams don’t have access to.

In the eyes of the CCP, returnee students bring not only foreign management experience and knowledge but also Western ideologies, concepts, and practices. They may find the party bureaucracy and culture of the CCP unusual, and to some extent, bring ideas of freedom and democracy, opposing communist ideologies. Thus, for the CCP, this has always been a double-edged sword.

Associate Professor Feng Chongyi from the University of Technology Sydney, in an interview with Voice of America, mentioned that returning to study abroad was once seen as a sign of reform and opening up, with the government prioritizing the recruitment of returnees into the civil service in the past. However, with Xi Jinping coming to power, the discrimination against returning students has increased over the past decade. This demonstrates a deepening concern of the CCP towards the outside world, pushing returnees away from civil service selection and potentially leading China towards a more closed-off direction.

Feng believes that currently, more people want to stay abroad, only returning out of necessity, which also presents challenges in finding employment upon their return. Overseas students are aware of the truths about how the CCP covered up the COVID-19 pandemic and allowed the virus to spread. During the White Paper Movement, domestic students called for the support of overseas students from abroad, leading the authorities to be more cautious of the overseas student community.

The youth unemployment rate in mainland China is on the rise, and being a civil servant is considered a “iron rice bowl,” which is a major reason for the popularity of civil service exams. According to a survey by the Chinese recruitment platform “Liepin” in 2023, among the surveyed overseas students planning for graduation, 17% chose “to take the civil service exam” as their top choice.

Rumors of a salary increase for China’s 48 million civil servants have recently been confirmed by multiple sources, with the authorities potentially injecting around 100 billion RMB into the economy. Critics argue that the authorities are only increasing salaries for better-off civil servants, creating another form of social inequality.

Han Yutao, a Chinese student studying in Washington State in the US, told Voice of America that Chinese students in the US, as long as they come from affluent families, prefer to return to China after graduation and enter the system. Many pursue education abroad solely for obtaining a degree. If their families are influential, they will undoubtedly try to leverage their overseas education to gain power within the system and maintain their family’s influence.

Assistant Professor Zeng Weifeng from Tamkang University’s China Mainland Research Institute mentioned to Voice of America that under Xi Jinping’s emphasis on national security, there is heightened vigilance against these returnees, presenting them with a dilemma once they have left. They face obstacles abroad due to various reasons, struggling to secure positions, and returning to China does not seem to offer better opportunities.

In fact, the phenomenon of high-achieving individuals in China facing intense competition is becoming increasingly severe.

A recent report from mainland Chinese media revealed that a Suzhou high school published its list of outstanding 2025 graduates recruited by top universities, showing that out of the 13 selected graduates, six were graduates from Tsinghua University and four from Peking University. Among them, there were eight doctoral graduates and five master’s graduates, with not a single graduate from a pedagogical specialty.

Some netizens in China questioned whether graduating from Tsinghua or Peking automatically qualifies one to become a teacher, questioning the relevance of pedagogical training. Another netizen mused, “Is everyone so competitive now? Is there no room for any practical work while pursuing a postgraduate degree?”

A video of a Tsinghua female master’s graduate who became unemployed and decided to study culinary arts at a technical school sparked discussions recently. In the video, the graduate mentioned that due to difficulties in finding a job after unemployment, she wanted to learn culinary arts to acquire more skills.

On December 5, 2023, a security guard in Qingdao, Shandong Province stabbed a food delivery driver inside a residential compound. The delivery driver, who had studied in Australia before returning to China six years ago and had no stable job, was tragically killed after working as a delivery driver for only six days. This incident ignited strong public outcry.