World of HR: China limits travel for public employees

The Chinese government has imposed travel restrictions for public employees as the country tries to limit potential foreign interference.

Most public employees, including teachers and nurses, are not allowed to travel abroad without express permission from officials, the New York Times reported on Aug. 3. The government told workers that the rules are to protect national security and fight corruption, but it seems that it’s part of a larger strategy to reduce overall interaction with foreigners. Some workers have had to hand over their passports to the government and may not get them back until two years after retirement.

Additionally, some employees must alert their employer if they leave the city; business trips are largely prohibited, according to the Times.

New workers in China who previously studied abroad may not be eligible for public positions, and most provinces no longer recruit workers from foreign universities for the most highly coveted positions.

“Because of US-China relations, because of the competition, I think it’s fair to say that Chinese society in general has become more sensitive to foreign countries,” Dongshu Liu, a professor at City University of Hong Kong, told the Times.

It doesn’t stop there. Appliance manufacturer Gree Electric won’t hire people educated outside of China. “Among them are spies,” the company’s president, Dong Mingzhu, said in April.

As China tries to maintain control of its talent, many of the country’s students seek opportunities outside their borders. The US has promised to “aggressively” revoke Chinese student visas since President Trump returned to office in January, over potential national security concerns. However, critics believe this isolationist approach could hurt US companies’ ability to hire top-tier talent.

“[President] Xi is pushing many of the best and the brightest to leave China,” Thomas E. Kellogg, executive director of Georgetown’s Center for Asian Law, told the New York Times. “The US should be taking advantage of this historic brain drain, not shutting the door to many talented Chinese young people.”