Over reliance on outsiders is the original sin that caused this problem in the first place. Their data, CAD files, papers and code is already their embedded efforts spanning years. Having these people actually work in China would hold back development of native researchers. That's exactly what happened for Chinese gas cars, it took BYD and Geely breaking the model to change.
Nobody working in these fields is stupid, sometimes you just need a hint of an idea or a small bit of help, especially at this point in development.