College graduates who choose to start own businesses account for 3 percent in China, almost twice that of developed countries, said Wu Yan from China’s Ministry of Education at a press conference on Sept. 8 in Beijing, China News reported.

The national final of the 3rd China College Students’ “Internet Plus” Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition is to be held at Xidian University in Xi’an, northwestern China’s Shaanxi province, from Sept. 16 to 18.

About 1.5 million college students with 370,000 projects from 2,241 universities and colleges took part in the competition, according to Wu, a sharp increase due to China’s vigorous promotion of innovation and entrepreneurship in higher education in recent years.

In addition, 116 college teams from 25 other countries and regions, including the U.S., Canada, Japan, and Australia also joined the competition, signifying that China’s efforts to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in education is having international repercussions.