Chinese entrepreneurs abroad hit back after Gree chair flags returnees as potential spies

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - By Malay Mail

Friday, 02 May 2025 3:47 PM MYT

BEIJING, May 2 — A group of Chinese entrepreneurs educated overseas has publicly criticised controversial remarks made by Dong Mingzhu, chairman of Gree Group, after she suggested that returnees from abroad could be spies.

Dong, often referred to as China’s “home appliance queen”, reportedly told a closed-door shareholder meeting last week that her company would “never use a haigui pai”, or those who have studied or worked abroad, because of the potential risk they pose.

“There could be spies among them,” she warned, according to a leaked account of the meeting that has since sparked public outcry.

In a sharply worded open letter published on Monday, the Society of Younger Generation Entrepreneurs Returned from Overseas of Shanxi Province — also known as the Shanxi Returnees’ Chamber of Commerce — demanded that Dong apologise and be held “accountable for her inappropriate remarks”.

“Ms Dong imposed the ungrounded ‘spy’ speculation on the entire group [of returnees], which not only lacks data support, but also exposes enthusiastic overseas students to prejudice,” the group said.

“We urge Ms Dong Mingzhu to correct her wrong perceptions and [maintain] an open and inclusive environment for talent development,” it added.

The society also referenced a 2013 speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping, who described overseas-trained Chinese professionals as “precious assets” and credited them with helping drive the country’s technological progress.

“We, as enthusiastic patriotic returnees, will spare no effort to support the developments of our motherland as well as Chinese enterprises, and prove the absurdity of her remarks with our concrete actions,” the letter concluded.

Gree Group has yet to respond to a request for comment.

The controversy has reignited debate within China over the role and trustworthiness of returnee talent, known as haigui, amid rising geopolitical tensions with the West.

The Chinese government has long promoted overseas study, with more than eight million students heading abroad since 1978, mostly to the US, UK and Singapore. Around six million of them have since returned, according to official figures.

However, scrutiny around cross-border affiliations has intensified in recent years.

In early 2023, China’s Ministry of State Security issued a warning to students heading overseas to guard against recruitment by foreign intelligence services, citing “real cases” of espionage targeting Chinese nationals.

At the same time, Chinese students and scientists working in the US have faced their own accusations of spying, particularly in the context of rising US-China tensions and efforts by American lawmakers to curb academic and technological exchange with China.