Foreign talent fleeing China as haze lingers

Dirk Didascalou, senior vice president of mobile phones research and development center at Nokia, has decided to leave Beijing after his current term ends, quoting smog as the reason for his decision.

Didascalou, father of three children, came to China after Nokia set up the first R&D center in the country in 1998. He said he does not want his family to suffer from the polluted air in Beijing.

Didascalou wasn't alone. When Nokia was recruiting senior R&D experts, 15 of the 17 applicants refused to come to Beijing because it's frequently cloaked in haze.

This is a reflection of the fact that air pollution is choking China's economy, making it a less attractive place for talent from around the world.

China is paying a huge price for its worsening environment. An assessment by Peking University professor Zhang Shiqiu shows that four hazy days in January alone led to an economic loss of 23 billion yuan ($3.7 billion) on transportation and human health in 20 provinces.

Fudan University professor Li Zhiqing said bigger losses are hard to quantify. Li said China's losing its luster for global companies and talent, and that's the most brutal consequence of the pollution.

Health cost is another drag on the Chinese economy.

One mother has to take her 12-year-old son to the hospital almost every month for respiratory problems, which costs well over 1,000 yuan ($160) each time.

The population is also spending big on buying air purifiers, face masks and other products to combat haze.