China Daily: “China has seen a surge in the number of students returning to the country after studying overseas, the Ministry of Education said on Thursday.
English: Zhang Yesui(Chinese Ambassador to the United States), his wife and Chinese overseas student in America 中文: 张业遂（中国驻美大使）夫妇与中国留学生 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
More than 272,000 people returned last year, 86,700 more than in 2011, a 46 percent increase, according to the authority.
At the same time, 399,600 students went abroad, up 17.65 percent.
The country is actively encouraging students to return home after studying overseas, Zhang Xiuqin, director of the Ministry of Education’s department of international cooperation and exchanges, said at a news conference on Thursday.
“The ministry holds entrepreneur competitions and encourages enterprises to hire talent from overseas,” she said. “The ultimate goal is to attract more and avoid a brain drain, which is a global problem.”
According to the ministry, of the 2.64 million students who have gone abroad since 1978, 1.09 million — about two-fifths — have returned.
However, Zhang said the number of returnees has risen year-on-year.
The latest annual report on the development of Chinese studying abroad, which was compiled by the Center for China and Globalization and Mycos, an independent consulting firm, said that in 2011 the return rate reached 36.5 percent.
The report found that more overseas students are willing to return. The top two reasons are more economic opportunities and career development.”
via Returning overseas students on the rise |Society |chinadaily.com.cn.
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