‘Sea Turtles’ and ‘Seaweed’: The Return of Chinese Graduates from Siberian Universities to Their Home Country

Chinese graduates returning to China from Russian universities face a competitive job market, accompanied by criticism and expectations from families and society. Due to their collective annual return from foreign universities, Chinese graduates are labeled ‘sea turtles.’ The difficulties in finding a well-paid job and the problems in getting practical recognition for the efforts made during their stay abroad also discursively turn these young graduates into ‘sea turtles.’ The transition of Chinese graduates from university to working life, the complexity of finding a job in China’s ambiguous social and economic environment, and the role of universities in Siberia trying to attract international students are important epistemological issues. This article attempts to reconsider the symbolic value and practical recognition of international higher education in the Chinese labor market. A specific contemporary Chinese terminology about returning graduates is at the center of our attention. This social discourse shapes transnational education and labor markets. These issues are illuminated by ethnographic data collected by the author during his fieldwork with Chinese students in Tomsk and Irkutsk. The students and soon-tobe graduates were looking for a job in China, and as their career plans show, few would stay in Russia. These first-hand insights provide an opportunity to analyze the students’ reflexivity in relation to their employment practices from below. The internationalisation and diversification of education have created space for alternative study destinations such as Russia and new private-sector players with different interests in higher education. Chinese employers are becoming more demanding, while foreign university degrees are no longer exclusively a guarantee of career advancement.