China has launched a national-level service platform to help returning overseas students find work and start businesses, as the country steps up its efforts to attract talent and the number of returnees surges.
The Ministry of Education has partnered with 50 organisations to provide returnees with entrepreneurial mentors and match them directly with local government and corporate needs.
The measures show the value of overseas returnees is still recognised at the national level, despite recent scepticism in public discourse about the worth of studying abroad, according to Zheng Jinlian, vice-president of the Beijing-based think tank Centre for China and Globalisation.
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“Overseas students drive innovation and entrepreneurship. They play a vital role across various industries and in the development of our talent pool,” Zheng said.
The ministry has reportedly identified sectors including artificial intelligence and new materials as having a need for overseas talent.
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The latest initiative was unveiled at an event celebrating the 30th anniversary of the “Chunhui” programme – a long-running state effort encouraging overseas students to contribute to national development – in Shanghai on Thursday.
Wang Daquan, director of the education ministry’s Chinese Service Centre for Scholarly Exchange, told state broadcaster CCTV at the event that research showed young people studying abroad had a “very strong desire” to return to China for employment and entrepreneurship.