More Returned Chinese Students Choose to Start Businesses Homeland

An increasing number of Chinese students studying abroad are choosing to start up businesses back in China after graduation.

In 1999 alone, returned overseas Chinese students set up more than 3,000 scientific and technological businesses, which generated 10 billion yuan (US$1.2 billion) in output value, according to information from the Third Guangzhou Science and Technology Exchange Exposition of Returned Overseas Chinese Students held at the end of last month in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province.

Sources from the third meeting said that when the first such event was organized, only 300 overseas Chinese students attended, but the third exposition attracted 1,277 Chinese students who are studying in 25 countries and regions. The students brought 1,289 scientific projects along with them.

Some 320,000 Chinese students have traveled abroad for advanced study since the country started reforms and open-up drive in 1978. Only 140,000 of the students have returned after finishing their studies abroad.

But in recent years, the number of Chinese students who have studied abroad and then returned to start up businesses or work in China has been on growing at an annual rate of 13 percent.

For instance, 70 percent of the academicians with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering are those have studied abroad.

Many of the returned students attributed their return to the fact that they are deeply impressed by China's progress in many aspects, especially in work efficiency, and they are confident in China's huge market prospects and potential.

Different cities in the country, together with the Chinese Ministry of Personnel, have been working out a vast array of preferential policies to attract more overseas Chinese students back to start up businesses.

Up to now, more than 40 high-technology parks have been specially assigned across the country for returned overseas Chinese students to set up new ventures.








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