Jun Li blames China's rigid citizenship regulations for hindering the return of Chinese scientists from abroad (Nature 474, 285; 2011). This is an oversimplification.

Chinese scientists and engineers are much in demand abroad. But because of China's economic development and the downturn in the West, the number of returnees has risen sharply (see http://go.nature.com/dfljeo). Taiwan also had a surge of trained scientists returning home during its economic boom in the late 1980s and 1990s.

Given China's buoyant economy, relaxation of China's citizenship regulations is unlikely to happen soon.