Abstract:    At the time when the U.S. is suppressing and blocking China′s science and technology, it is of great practical significance to explore the mechanism of knowledge remittance of overseas Chinese inventors. Based on the theory of absorptive capacity and the research on knowledge recombination, this study explored the influence mechanism and boundary of the past performance of Chinese inventors in the United States on their knowledge remittances, and conducted an empirical analysis by utilizing the patent database of Chinese immigrant inventors in the United States from 1990 to 2011. The study found that: (1) Past performance has a positive correlation with knowledge remittances: high-performing overseas Chinese inventors generate more knowledge remittances; (2) Both of the two knowledge transfer channels, namely Chinese collaborators and Chinese professional associations, and the Chinese knowledge employed by Chinese inventors can positively moderate the relationship between past performance and knowledge remittances; (3) Chinese knowledge also moderates the moderating effect of the transfer channel: high-performing Chinese inventors who use more Chinese knowledge have a better transfer of their knowledge remittances by Chinese collaborators, while for high-performing Chinese inventors who use less Chinese knowledge, professional associations contribute more to their knowledge remittances. The findings of this paper will expand the micro-mechanism of knowledge remittances, deepen the understanding of transnational social capital and ethnic knowledge in migration and knowledge recombination studies from the theoretical level and provide policy insights for the overseas recruitment of talents by China′s Overseas Chinese Affairs Departments and domestic high-tech enterprises from the practical level.

Key words: knowledge remittance, Chinese inventor, Chinese knowledge, Chinese professional association