America’s allure Fades in China, keeping talent away

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.BEIJING—For decades, China has broadcast a simple message to its people: America is a chaotic and dangerous place.For just as long, that message largely failed to resonate, as millions of Chinese people looked across the Pacific and saw a proverbial “shining city upon a hill.” Many of China’s best and brightest saw the U.S. as a land of boundless opportunity underpinned by robust rule of law.Today, America’s allure is fading.

More elite Chinese youths, businesspeople and scientists are gravitating back home. Some who have returned say they are turned off not only by the U.S.’s hardening immigration enforcement, but also by its faulty infrastructure, gun violence and living costs.

Back in China, many cities have grown cleaner and more livable in recent years, linked together by efficient subways and high-speed trains.The shifting perceptions are a political gift to leader Xi Jinping at a moment when China’s economy is sputtering. A collapse in real-estate prices and a weak job market have left many Chinese feeling poorer than they were a few years ago.

In the past, such a performance would be considered disastrous for the Communist Party, which has staked its legitimacy on delivering ever-increasing prosperity—except that the alternative model presented by its biggest rival in the U.S. looks increasingly unattractive to many.For months, Chinese social-media users have been buzzing about the U.S.

“kill line,” a phrase used in videogames to describe the point at which a character can be killed with a single blow. Video after video on Chinese apps has explored how many Americans live at this dangerous threshold, a hospital bill or missed paycheck from slipping into poverty.“Many Americans