From: "Junwei W. Hou" <jwh3@PO.CWRU.EDU>
Subject:      An Essay: From China, With A PhD--In America
Reply-To: "Junwei W. Hou" <jwh3@po.CWRU.Edu>
Organization: Indiana University
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 06:26:31 GMT
Comments: To: china-nt@uga.uga.edu

*********************(Nov. 17, 1992)
Note:  This is an essay initially written for a newsletter.  Due to
some unexpected event, I decide to post on the net instead.  All
Rights Reserved--Junwei W. Hou (c) 1992.
**********************************************************

               From China, With A PhD --- In America


     One of the most dramatic aspects of China's decade-long reform
is about the Chinese students sent to the U.S.  Because of various
political events and some personal considerations, the majority of
these Chinese students remain in the U.S.  Today, nearly a decade
later, many of these students have graduated from universities with
their PhDs or other graduate degrees.  Increasingly, these new
graduates are entering the labor market in the U.S., with
majority of them working in universities as postdoctoral fellows or
in research sectors of pertinent industries.  Predictably, most of
these Chinese students will manage to stay in the U.S.
indefinitely, either through the regular immigration procedure or
taking advantage of the Chinese Students Protection Act just
enacted into law a few weeks ago.  As a member of this group of the
Chinese students, I would like to share my thoughts with my fellows
on the Chinese students' future in the U.S.   And, hopefully, my
fellow Chinese students would also share their ideas on this or
other related topics.

     My thoughts about this topic can be traced back to my recent
trip to Cambridge, Mass.   During that trip, my friends and I met
again, after six years had flown by since we came to this country
as a group of ambitious biochemistry students.  Bringing with them
their fresh PhDs from universities around the nation, my friends
have came to settle by the Charles River.   During our reunion, I
was inspired, unmistakably, by my friends' earnestness for a
successful academic career, their visions on what they would do
after becoming a professor, and their eagerness for searching a new
opportunity of commercializing the technology they possessed.  It
seemed to me, at that moment, that we had sensed the coming of a
new era for us --- fresh out of graduate schools, with an untested
ambition for excellence.

     One of the inescapable themes during my visit to Boston was
that some of us, from the Mainland, with a PhD, may opt for
something exciting besides our lab works.  We are lucky enough to
be the ones possessing some of the most advanced technological
skills in the world.  We are the ones residing within the economic
and technology powerhouse of the world.  And we came from the
mainland (which is, as Perot put it, "a large country broken down
into many provinces").  Common sense tells the obvious:  For us, it
is about a new opportunity emerging from a high-tech oriented
global economy, and, perhaps, from a booming market of 1.2 billion
consumers with a trade approaching to $200 billion annually.

     Not doubt, many of us are among the most talented scientists,
computer programmers and engineers in the U.S.   However, due to
the concerns over immigration and some politically sensitive
matters, many of us are feeling the restraint in our search for
career opportunities.  For many Chinese students whose majors are
in sciences, such as physics, chemistry and life sciences, the
career opportunities are largely limited to research institutes and
universities.   While entering an academic career is among the most
attractive destinies for many Chinese students who have either
graduated from schools or finished their postdoctoral training,
many others may want to look into other alternatives before making
their decisions.  Such alternatives will likely be more feasible
for the Chinese students after they gain permanent residence status
in the U.S.   One of these alternatives, obviously, is the relevant
industry sectors which commercialize the technologies they are good
at.  And, in my view, this alternative does exit in the emerging
high-tech oriented economy.

     The President-elect, Bill Clinton, has proposed an impressive
economic recovery plan which, among other things, emphasizes the
important role of high-tech industries, including computer,
telecommunication, biotechnology, in guiding the U.S. economy into
the 21st Century.  The proposal provides various incentives to
encourage investments in the high-tech industries.  It was this
proposal that won the support from CEOs of many American high-tech
companies, including the CEO of Apple Computer, Inc.   As a result,
the high-tech industries are expected to grow significantly in the
1990s.  And, through a tougher trade policy proposed by the will-be
Clinton Administration and the expected enactment of the North
America Free Trade Agreement, the markets for high-tech goods in
foreign countries, especially in Asian and South-American
countries, will eventually open to the U.S. manufacturers with
substantially less trade barriers.  In most high-tech industries,
the U.S. is the undisputed leader in the world.  The jobs in the
U.S. high-tech industries, therefore, will likely increase
significantly.  As demand for highly educated labors increases in
high-tech industries, many of us will be able to gain access to
more career opportunities in various industry sectors.  The
prospect of the graduated Chinese students' entering into private
industry sectors is even better if the measures provided in the
Protection Act is to be materialized next summer.

     Alternatively, some of us may want to create their own
businesses.  It can be expected, considering that many Chinese
students are very talented in their specific technological fields,
that these graduated Chinese students will have a good chance to be
successful in establishing their own high-tech companies.
Conceivably, one major obstacle these graduated Chinese students
will be facing is the lack of capital investments.  In order to
attract venture capitals, the Chinese students should consider,
among other things, to establish their technology credibility.
Such credibility may be built on patents with commercial potential,
and, more importantly, their excellent technological backgrounds.
In addition, it is highly desirable for business-minded Chinese
students to get an early start in forming professional groups,
gathering relevant market information, and learning business and
legal aspects of establishing a high-tech company in the U.S.

     Finally, it will only be helpful for us to keep in mind about
the market potential in China.  The reform launched in the early
1980s has created an energetic business atmosphere and produced
continuous growth, and are now building up a $15 billion trade
surplus with the U.S., second only to Japan.   The decade long
economic growth has enhanced the purchasing power of ordinary
Chinese citizens.  It is foreseeable that the ordinary Chinese
consumers are to demand for a higher standard of living with
respect to both consumer goods and health care products.
Furthermore, the industry sectors, especially those located in the
special economic zones and along the coastal areas, have
accumulated large amount of foreign currency reserve as a result of
the export-oriented economy.   In order to place themselves in a
more competitive position, these export-oriented industries are
expected to add new equipments and to acquire more advanced
technologies from abroad.  Thus, a potentially huge market for
high-tech products such as those of computer industry,
telecommunication industry, pharmaceutical industry and other
high-tech industries could be coming to existence in China in the
near future.

     Moreover, a more opened China market for the U.S. merchandises
is inevitable.  One day after the President signed into law the
Chinese Student Protection Act,  the Chinese government, facing $4
billion trade retaliation from the U.S., finally made the biggest
trade concession ever to the U.S. government as China agreed to
remove most trade barriers which have long been the norm of its
trade practice.  The current trade barriers erected by China since
early 1980s have been especially adverse to many key U.S. export
sectors, including many high-tech industries.  China will also be
obliged to reduce significantly, by no later than the end of next
year, tariffs on a variety of consumer products.  This trade
agreement between the U.S. and China, coupled with China's promise
earlier this year to amend its patent law, will certainly improve
China's status in its effort to join the General Agreements on
Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the major international trade body.  A
GATT membership will automatically entitle China the most-favor
nation (MFN) status in its trade with any other member state,
including the U.S., and thus avoid the MFN status being subject to
conditions attached by the U.S.   To a large extent, this landmark
trade accord is a green light for many U.S. companies to enter into
China's market.  Taking into consideration China's new purchasing
power and its increasing needs in acquiring advanced technologies,
the opening of China's market to the U.S. goods will benefit those
of us who are willing to do business with China and possess the
kind of technologies China wants.  To our advantage, many of us can
certainly serve as a bridge between the U.S. technologies and
China's market-oriented economic reform which has been re-charged
during last month's 14th CCP Congress.

     Admittedly, upon the passage of S. 1216, the Chinese students
will likely be enjoying a broader scope of career opportunities.
In a high-tech oriented economy, many of us will have an
opportunity to enter the high-tech industries.  Such choice becomes
even more promising when taking into account the recent
breakthrough in Sino-U.S. trade negotiations and China's potential
market.  The timing of the New World Order, the place where we now
are in, the place where we come from, and opportunities for the
ones possessing high-tech skills, can hardly be less inspiring than
our dreams of coming to America during our college years.

     Nonetheless, putting things in perspective, one should not
lose a sense of realism over one's excitement of being thinking
like an entrepreneur.  Yet, if we commit ourselves to searching for
a new opportunity, I do believe that it be no dream.   And we, from
the mainland, armed with high-tech skills, can really be something
outside our beloved academic circles.



                                   Junwei Hou
Newsgroups: talk.politics.china