As in they have spent their careers there and China has changed a lot and they are no longer valuable anymore. International company are replacing expats with locals, especially those that can’t speak Chinese.
China has changed a lot in the last three years and local brands are getting really savvy and expats are viewed as out of touch. Especially as the growth opportunities are in the third and fourth tiers, where behaviour and habits are far removed from the big cities and the rest of the world.
This is only referring to retail , I don’t know about other industry