An undergrad at a US target school seeking IBD opportunities in China/HK. What's the best way to go about it?

Hi. Hope everyone is doing well during these turbulent quarantine times.

Just a little bit about me: I was born in the States but moved to China at three. Grew up there and came back to the States around the start of middle school. I speak fluent Mandarin with no accent and my Mandarin writing/reading ability is about the same as a Chinese middle/high schooler (can read WSJ Chinese with little to no difficulty). I also know how to speak (to a certain extent) the Henan regional dialect/accent, though I don't know how much of a role that'll play into all of this.

I'm currently at a top target school in the US (Top-10 Ivy League) and have studied abroad at Tsinghua for a semester. I've always wanted to return to China to work. Don't know why, I just feel a pull to go back. Perhaps it's because I spent my childhood there or because the majority of my family/relatives are still residing in China. So, I was wondering how easy (or difficult) it is for an someone like me who can speak/read/write fluent Mandarin graduating from a top US school to get an offer in an IBD in China?

Should I focus on getting into a multinational BB like GS/MS/JPM. Work for 1-2 years on Wall Street, and then request an internal corporate transfer to their Beijing/Shanghai/Hong Kong offices? Is that a plausible idea? Or should I be directly looking for hires in China/HK instead? How easy would it be for me to get offers since I'll be competing against locals and/or Chinese citizens educated abroad? It's been difficult to extensively network in China while living in the US.

As for the desired length of stay in China, I'm looking for something long term (at least 3-4 years, but preferably 6+ years stay in China). Thanks in advance for any advice.

7 Comments
 

It's a mixed bag. I kind of have two separate social circles. The one I hangout the most with are thebuddies from the US that I've met on campus, or at networking/social events and whatnot and they consist of all sorts of races (white, Asian, black). The other circle is basically mainland Chinese and HK students studying abroad in the US that I occasionally hangout with.

 

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