Most overseas grads return home for work

Since the reform and opening-up policy of 1978, 818,400 Chinese have studied overseas, 72 percent of which returned to China for work, the Xinhua News Agency reported Sunday.

The number of Chinese students overseas in 2011 was 339,700, up 19.32 percent compared to 2010. Last year, 186,200 returned home, up 38.08 percent from 2010.

In order to make the transition smoother for high-achieving students to return to China, the overseas student service center of the Ministry of Education will hold a job fair for returned overseas Chinese students and graduates in Beijing on Saturday.

According to the report from Xinhua, 1,500 Chinese overseas graduates have registered for the fair and 80 percent have a master's or doctoral degree.

The registered employers include State-owned enterprises such as China National Petroleum Corporation and Sinopec, and leading universities in China and private companies from all over the country. They will offer more than 500 job positions.

Cheng Zhong, who recently returned with a degree from a US university, said deciding to return to China was easy once he learned of the policies that highlight and welcome returned graduates.