I'd argue that degrees from the C9 unis are worthy of some respect, and to a lesser extent, those from project 985 unis. However, we all know how corrupt China is, the amount of fake qualifications on offer etc... Therefore when you interview Chinese staff, you need to grill them quite intensely in my opinion and trust your instincts, put the supposed prestige to one side.

Likewise with hiring Chinese staff that previously studied abroad. Many were just rich kids that couldn't cope with the gaokao, tend to make few local friends whilst over there, some even don't actually learn to speak the language of the host country correctly. If they still talk like a Chinese person and don't respond to Western humour well, reject them instantly.