Christopher Farai Charamba Correspondent
Haigui is a Chinese language colloquial word for Chinese people who have returned to mainland China after having studied abroad for several years. In 1978, Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping made a strategic decision to send 3 000 students and scholars from the People’s Republic of China overseas for further education each year. His plan was to rebuild China’s scientific community, catastrophically reduced during the decade-long anti-intellectual Cultural Revolution (1966-76) that had just ended.

Deng Xiaoping had hoped that a majority of students would return and told critics that even if five percent did not, the policy would be a great success. Unfortunately for Deng, his calculations were completely off. According to PRC government statistics, only a quarter of the 1.2 million Chinese people who have gone abroad to study in the past 30 years have returned.

Despite this, though, those who have returned from overseas universities are highly sought after by Chinese business and some have risen to incredible heights contributing to the growth of the Chinese economy in recent years.

According to authorities, returnee graduates have also been playing significant roles in China’s mission to be creative in an effort to transform the economy from a cheap labour intensive one. Among others, Haigui entrepreneurs are now making vital contributions to create job opportunities and transfer technologies into economic growth.

The pertinent question though is how has China managed to lure back these Haigui and what can Zimbabwe do to emulate the successes that China has had? There are a significant number of Zimbabweans in the Diaspora with grand academic and corporate portfolios and expertise to contribute to the growth and development of the country.

Aside from remittances from these Zimbabweans abroad, it is important to find ways to include them in the developmental processes of the nation going forward.

Different motivations have resulted in foreign educated Chinese nationals returning to their home country. “China’s high-speed economic growth in the past years has motivated overseas students to come back and to look for job opportunities,” Liu Yuan, general manager of Chinese international education service provider EIC’s Shanghai branch, is cited as saying on one journal.

For most internationally educated people who have lived and worked abroad, ambition tends to be a bigger influence and they are thus motivated to achieve certain career goals. This has resulted in a significant number of returnees who are motivated by career development.

At least 17 percent of Chinese nationals consider returning to their home country because they feel that China has more job opportunities for them, while 25 percent expect to have a faster career path in China. One can therefore argue that while the first waves of Haigui left China for better opportunities abroad, they are now returning for the very same reason.

Zimbabwe, however, is in a completely different scenario where unemployment is high and job opportunities are scarce. This therefore becomes a deterrent to those who are in the Diaspora and a motivating factor for others to continue the exodus.

It is therefore important that a priority be placed on job creation and more so creating an environment where job creation can take place. It is not only important for Government to sign investment deals with the foreign governments but also to promote local private businesses to source foreign capital to grow their business.

In the survey done by international recruitment agency, Hays Chinese returnees were asked which type of organisation they wanted to work for if they were to return. About 67 percent of returnees said they would like to work for a foreign owned enterprise, while nine percent wish to work for a joint venture, and seven percent would look for work in a private company.

The role of multinational corporations in the developing world is key to the global economy. Over the years a number of firms have moved to China because of the growing market and cheap labour but also because there is a larger proportion of foreign educated and trained nationals who can be hired by these firms.

Employers operating in the globalised economy value such skills and experience partly because these returnees are a more cost-effective alternative to expatriates. Haigui also have a further advantage over expatriates in that they already have local China cultural understanding.

As the international expansion of Chinese companies accelerates, employers in China are looking for internationally knowledgeable staff to ensure they keep moving forward. But they also want candidates with local China market experience, knowledge of PRC regulations and understanding of China business behaviour, according to one journal.

Zimbabwe cannot afford to overlook international firms in a globalising market. In fact, with the country’s geographical position in the sadc, it can easily be the axis for international business in the region particularly with the continuing fall of the Rand in South Africa and the fact that Zimbabwe uses the US dollar.

With a large host of foreign trained and experienced Zimbabwean nationals to choose from, there is no excuse for such firms not to employ locals. In fact that can be one of the preconditions for any foreign business that wishes to establish itself in the country. There is also a need to spread the wealth in Zimbabwe. A lot of the business opportunities are currently found in Harare and while other towns become ghostlike.

EIC’s Mr Liu points out that in China while there are more opportunities in first-tier cities, many second- and third-tier cities now also offer favourable policies to attract returned talent, and encourage them to start businesses.

Government should find ways to incentivise the promotion of businesses in other cities and towns such as Bulawayo, Masvingo or Mutare. The recapitalising of industry in those places is the most important step to kick starting business again in those towns.

One key thing to note is that nearly 30 percent of overseas Chinese students chose Shanghai, the country’s economic centre, to start their careers. Next most popular was the political centre, Beijing, with about 24 percent. Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hangzhou followed.

Business and economic opportunity are the key motivators in attracting foreign educated nationals back to their home country. Zimbabwe needs to prioritise correcting its business environment first if it is to follow a similar path to China.

Over the years China has realised that it needs to adopt a slightly more laissez faire approach to business and one such move was when China relaxed its controls on RMB cash inflows for multinational firms. Zimbabwe this year improved on the ease of doing business index but Government needs to do more to ensure investors that investing in the country is a secure and worthwhile investment to make.

Zimbabweans are known and revered around the world for their intellectual capacity and industriousness. Highly educated and sought after, the Government has made a considerable effort to maintain the high education standards of the people locally.

Through the Presidential Scholarship, the Zimbabwean Government also sends hundreds of students to study outside the country in South Africa, Algeria, Cuba and now China where 100 students will receive scholarships starting next year. This has been a great initiative as it exposes Zimbabweans to various cultures and environments as well as equipping them with international skills and competing at international level.

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