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A Promising Undertaking
Implementation of the strategy of rejuvenating the country through science and education is an important State policy of the Chinese government. Talent is the decisive factor in the application of this strategy. Among our ranks of science and technology, in addition to the 18 million domestic scientific and technological personnel of various types, there is a contingent of scientific and technological experts composed of overseas Chinese and foreigners of Chinese origin with new knowledge and of profound attainment. According to relevant materials, there are 600,000 scientific and technological personnel of Chinese descent around the world, who are distributed mainly in developed countries. There are 450,000 such people in the United States alone. The research work engaged in by scientific and technical experts composed of overseas Chinese and foreigners of Chinese origin covers almost all important high-tech fields in today's world.
The surging tide of China's reform and opening program has injected fresh vigor into the scientific and technological ranks of overseas Chinese and foreigners of Chinese origin. Related materials reveal that between 1978 and late 1999, the number of students sent by various areas of China's mainland to study abroad was close to 220,000 distributed in 103 countries and regions. With the exception of around 100,000 students who returned home after completing their studies abroad, most students remain overseas, some of them are still at school, some others live in the countries concerned after finishing their studies, becoming a new generation of overseas Chinese and foreigners with Chinese origin. Among them are many outstanding talents, the overwhelming majority of them have a strong enterprising spirit and a good wish of serving their motherland by various ways and means.
Viewed from the practice of China's revolution and construction, professionals made up of overseas Chinese and foreigners with Chinese origin have played a significant role in China's socialist modernization drive. Since the founding of New China in 1949, the Chinese government has paid great attention to outstanding overseas Chinese talents and has established a special body which has carried out fruitful work. As early as the 1950s and 1960s, more than 2,500 overseas specialists had returned in succession to work on the mainland of the motherland, their outstanding representatives are a group of well-known scientists including Li Siguang, Qian Xuesen, Hua Luogeng and Tang Aoqing, they have made important contributions to the development of various Chinese undertakings. Statistics show that in 1990, among the academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, 132 were returned overseas Chinese scientists and technicians, accounting for over one-third of the then total number of academicians. After the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Party Central Committee in December 1978, another group of overseas experts returned to China to take part in the motherland's construction. Young in age and with new knowledge, they constitute an additional backbone force in China's scientific research and teaching fields. By 1997, among the academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering alone, 157 were persons of outstanding ability returned in different periods to work in the country, accounting for 51.6 percent of the total number of academicians.
Since the middle and late years of the 1990s, a large group of professionals of overseas Chinese and foreigners with Chinese origin who stayed in the country concerned after completing the studies have become increasingly active in serving the motherland by various methods, the fact that they stay in the country concerned but return home to do pioneering work has become a trend, and demonstrated the absolute sincerity of these overseas Chinese. According to incomplete statistics, the Start-up Parks created by 44 returned overseas Chinese students in various parts of the country have attracted more than 3,000 enterprises, the majority of these parks were set up by the new generation of professionals of overseas Chinese and foreigners with Chinese origin who stay abroad after completing their studies, most of the enterprises are performing well and have good prospects for development. Practice proves that the undertakings started by professionals of returned overseas Chinese and foreigners with Chinese origin who come to China not only play an important role in China's implementation of the strategy for rejuvenating the country through science and education, but also provide an important way for the new generation of overseas Chinese and foreigners with Chinese origin to develop their own career.
In order to support the development of the career of the new generation of overseas Chinese and foreigners with Chinese origin and encourage them to return home (come to China) to set up high and new technological enterprises, in recent years, the relevant Chinese ministries and commissions and many local governments of the Beijing and Shanghai municipalities, and Guangdong, Jiangsu and Hubei provinces have successively published a series of preferential policies, which mainly include the following contents: First, preferential treatment in the aspect of technological share. Professionals of overseas Chinese and foreigners of Chinese descend may participate in distribution or carrying out technology transfer with patent, invention and special technological elements. For those who buy shares with high and new technological achievements from limited companies or enterprises of non-corporate system, the amount of the fixed price paid for the transfer of high and new technological achievements can reach 35 percent or even higher of the registered capital. Second, the policy on the confirmation of identity. Professionals of overseas Chinese may apply for registered enterprises with their passports. Those who need the appraisal of technical title may, in light of their own qualifications, directly apply for participating in the appraisal of professional or technical titles of the corresponding grade. The technical title they obtained abroad corresponding to the title of the same domestic grade will be granted recognition. Third, policy in regard to the settlement of their families. The minor children of the professionals of overseas Chinese and foreigners with Chinese origin, if they need to study at a local school on a temporary basis, will be arranged to study at a nearby better school by the local education administrative department. If their children need to sit for college or senior middle school examinations, due consideration is given to them in reference to the stipulations on returned overseas Chinese sending their children to school. Priority consideration will be given to them in sending their children to nursery and in providing jobs. Spouses returned with overseas Chinese may settle down in the location of their enterprise. Fourth, preferential treatment in the aspect of housing for living and enterprise use. Specious houses are provided for professionals of overseas Chinese and foreigners with Chinese origin. Low-rent preferential treatment is given to housing for enterprise offices for three years. Fifth, preferential treatment in the aspect of taxation. For enterprises set up by professionals of overseas Chinese and foreigners with Chinese origin, financial return is given to that part of the locally retained value added tax paid in two years, starting from the day of approval. A 50 percent is returned in three years thereafter. For those engaging in the business within the scope of the Park area that encourages production and operation, the already paid local business tax will be returned by a 50 percent rate in two years, and a 25 percent will be returned in three years thereafter.
Today's China's practice of respecting knowledge and talent has begun to become a social custom, science and technology have become the primary factor pushing the development of social productive forces. China is a land of happiness for scientific and technological workers at home and abroad to display their talent and ambition.
In the next 10-20 years, we will achieve the objective of "developing high technology and realizing industrialization." This is a great campaign in the history of New China, a battle that determines China's future position in the world and a revolutionary strategic shift on the road of China's development. At the same time, in an effort to enable the Chinese economy to maintain a high growth rate in the future, the country has decided to continue to institute a macro-economic policy of expanding domestic demand and promoting development, while vigorously pushing forward the reform of State-owned enterprises, China has begun to implement the strategy of large-scale development of the western region. This will not only open up new space for the development of the Chinese economy, but will provide numerous business opportunities for investors from various countries. The development of the Chinese economy and the expansion in the area of opening to the outside world have, without doubt, provided a broad stage for the professionals of overseas Chinese and foreigners with Chinese origin to give free reign to their talent and develop their businesses. There will be plenty of room for them to develop their abilities on this stage.
The Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council, as a Chinese government institution specialized in the work of overseas Chinese and foreigners with Chinese origin, so it is their duty to serve overseas China. At present, the above-said office is assisting overseas Chinese scientific and technological organizations to launch the activity of "forming pairs" with western provinces. This activity aims, on the one hand, to give play to the intelligence superiority of overseas scientific and technological organizations and develop long-term mutually beneficial cooperation, and promote the development of agriculture and high-tech industries in western provinces; on the other hand, it create condition and find opportunities for overseas professionals to develop their businesses. Second, said institution actively helps professionals of overseas Chinese to come to China to set up businesses, guide overseas experts to come to China to set up high-tech joint enterprises with relevant departments, or carry out technical renovation and the development of new products by the method of buying shares with technology or urge transnational corporations to enter into cooperation and exchange with China and to introduce to China advanced technology through foreigners with Chinese origin. In order to further sum up experiences and to provide better services for more professionals of overseas Chinese and foreigners with Chinese origin to return home (come to China) to start undertakings, this year we have chosen "China Wuhan Overseas Students Pioneering Park" and the "Hangzhou High and New Base of the Zhejiang Provincial Overseas Student Start-up Park" as the main connection units of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council. Third, integrating social fellowship and friendship with the promotion of cooperation and exchange, inviting responsible members of overseas Chinese scientific and technological organizations to come to China to carry out exchanges. In the future, overseas Chinese affairs offices at all levels will, as always, serve as links with the broad masses of overseas Chinese, including professionals of overseas Chinese and foreigners with Chinese origin to return home (come to China) to develop economic cooperation and scientific and technological exchanges, help them solve their difficulties in returning home to start up enterprises, and offer them good service, so that they will have ample scope for their abilities, , make new contributions for the progress and development of science and technology and contribute their wisdom and strength for the modernization drive of the motherland.
(The author Guo Dongpo is the director of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council)
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