The number of applicants for the 2025 civil service exam has exceeded 3.4 million for the first time. Pictured is a testing site for the civil service exam in Nanjing in 2014. (Getty Images)
[People News] Graduates from prestigious overseas universities were once sought after in China’s civil service recruitment programs. However, recent policy shifts have increasingly excluded these returnees. Provinces like Beijing and Guangdong have recently closed their doors to overseas graduates in civil service selection. Experts say this change reflects the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) prioritization of political loyalty and its wariness of the “potential threat” posed by holders of foreign degrees.
According to a report by Voice of America (VOA), securing a spot in civil service recruitment has long been a dream for many Chinese students studying abroad. However, since last year, several provinces and cities in China have tightened their policies toward overseas graduates.
Chinese media reports indicate that while students from renowned institutions like Harvard, Cambridge, and Oxford were previously eligible to apply for Guangdong’s civil service programs, these and 60 other top overseas universities have been removed from this year’s list of eligible schools. Shandong’s 2025 civil service selection has also excluded overseas university graduates. Henan Province recently issued a notice stating that general recruitment and specialized legal positions remain open to graduates from foreign universities, but applicants must hold a master’s degree or higher and have completed their undergraduate studies at a domestic Chinese institution.
Dr. Feng Chongyi, Associate Professor of China Studies at the University of Technology Sydney, told VOA that studying abroad in the 1980s symbolized the era of reform and opening up, with foreign degrees highly valued. During the administrations of Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, overseas returnees remained popular. However, under Xi Jinping’s leadership, the past decade has seen returning students face increasing discrimination.
Graduates with “Connections” Prefer Civil Service
Han Yutao, a Chinese student studying in Washington State, USA, told VOA that Chinese students in the U.S. from well-off families often prefer to return to China and pursue careers in government.
Han said, “If their families are well-off in China, whether wealthy or powerful, most would choose to stay in China rather than downgrade their standard of living by staying in the U.S. They attend schools here just to obtain a degree. After returning, they’ll find ways to enter the system to gain power. If their family already has power, they’ll leverage their overseas degree to secure government positions and maintain their family’s influence.”
Civil service recruitment programs target fresh graduates from universities each year, grooming them as future leaders in party and government positions. These recruits receive better benefits and faster promotions compared to those entering civil service through standard exams.
Recruitment programs are divided into general and targeted selection categories. General recruits are often assigned to grassroots units such as townships or street offices, while targeted recruits typically go to county- or city-level agencies, and even provincial-level offices.
Dr. Xie Tian, a professor at the University of South Carolina’s School of Business, told VOA that being selected for these programs puts candidates on a fast track.
“As far as I know, selected recruits receive special training and are groomed to become officials. Their personnel files are handled differently, as these individuals are seen as seeds of communism by the CCP. Such opportunities are often reserved for those with connections or special privileges, not ordinary candidates,” Xie said.
In October 2023, CCP-affiliated China News Weekly reported that provinces like Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Guangdong, Shandong, Sichuan, and Henan had opened targeted recruitment programs to overseas returnees.
However, Xie noted, “For the ‘second red generation’ (children of prominent CCP officials), opportunities to enter politics or business and amass wealth have never been lacking. Sometimes, the CCP uses returnees trained abroad to present a facade of reform, openness, and investment-friendliness. These individuals, familiar with international markets, could help attract foreign investment. But after the pandemic, with the economy stagnating and trade wars with the U.S., these strategies have shifted.”
A year later, policies have reversed, and many regions have shut the door on overseas graduates. Chinese media analyses suggest that political standards for recruitment are stricter than those for regular civil service exams. Provinces like Henan require applicants to meet at least one of the following criteria: membership in the CCP; at least one year of experience as a student leader; receiving awards at or above the university level; or military service during college. Media reports emphasize that “strong political qualities, a sense of mission, and responsibility” are now prioritized.
Analysis: Returnee Students Viewed as a Double-Edged Sword by the CCP
Xie Tian explained that in the CCP’s eyes, overseas returnees are a double-edged sword with potential risks.
“In the CCP’s view, while these returnees bring foreign management experience and knowledge, they often also bring Western ideas, values, and practices. They may find the CCP’s bureaucratic system and party culture intolerable, and to varying degrees, they carry ideas of freedom, democracy, and anti-communism,” Xie said. “This has always been a double-edged sword for the CCP. At times, it may feel that these influences are too much or pose too great a threat to the regime, leading it to tighten control.”
Feng Chongyi, a scholar at the University of Technology Sydney, believes that the COVID-19 pandemic and the “White Paper Movement” have heightened the CCP’s vigilance toward overseas students.
Feng said, “In the past, having a foreign degree was a great stepping stone. Parents believed that earning a foreign degree would benefit their children’s career prospects and promotions. They encouraged their children to study abroad with the expectation of better opportunities upon returning. However, now more students want to stay abroad and only return reluctantly. After returning, finding a job is also challenging. Post-COVID, overseas students learned the truth about the CCP’s cover-up of the pandemic and its role in spreading the virus. These students are a powerful group in breaking through the CCP’s information control, which creates significant conflict with the regime. During the White Paper Movement, domestic students called on overseas students to support them from abroad. These students stood in opposition to the government, intensifying the antagonism between returnees and the authorities.”
Dr. Zeng Weifeng, an assistant professor at Tamkang University’s Graduate Institute of China Studies in Taiwan, told VOA that the CCP’s reservations about employing returnees are driven by both political and practical considerations.
“In highly internationalized cities like Guangzhou and Shanghai, there might be a desire to utilize talents with foreign language skills. But the government may now feel these individuals aren’t as useful as expected—they might not fully understand China’s context,” Zeng said. “Another reason could be that many returnees have their own ideas. In the government system, they may not find ways to contribute effectively. These individuals often come from privileged backgrounds, enabling them to study abroad, and they may see themselves as superior. It’s difficult for them to work at grassroots levels. In contrast, those within the CCP system must endure hardship and continually undergo ideological education. Perhaps the government has found the proportion of returnees who are genuinely useful to be relatively low.”
Survey Shows 17% of Returnees Aim for Civil Service Jobs
According to a 2023 survey conducted by the Chinese recruitment platform Liepin, 17% of overseas returnees cited civil service exams as their top career choice after graduation. This reflects a strong desire among returnees to work within the system. Dr. Zeng believes that recent news about the exclusion of returnees from civil service recruitment will put Chinese students abroad in a difficult position.
He said, “Under Xi Jinping’s regime, with its emphasis on national security, there is increased wariness toward these returnees. This will likely frustrate them and indirectly foster negative perceptions within the returnee community. For those already abroad, this creates a dilemma. They face obstacles overseas, such as difficulty securing teaching positions, yet returning to China doesn’t seem to offer better opportunities.”
As China’s civil service selection increasingly prioritizes political loyalty, the position of returnees has become more precarious. This trend highlights the CCP’s balancing act between internationalization and political security, raising concerns about whether China is moving toward a more closed-off future.
Feng Chongyi, a scholar at the University of Technology Sydney, believes that the exclusion of returnees reflects the CCP's growing suspicion of the outside world. He stated, "The rejection of returnees from civil service recruitment prevents Chinese society from integrating with global civilization and leads China toward renewed isolation."
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