Over the last few years, overseas Chinese students have been returning to China at a faster rate than ever, according to officials of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS).

"A total of over 1.1 million overseas Chinese students have returned to China to seek opportunities during the last 6 years, about three times the total number of all those who returned during the previous 30 years," said an official in charge of the Professional and Technical Personnel Management Department of the MOHRSS.

According to incomplete statistics, a record high of 300, 000 overseas Chinese students came back to China in 2013, and it is estimated that by 2019, for the first time in history, the number of overseas Chinese students returning to China will overtake that of Chinese students going to study abroad.

Experts say three main factors have facilitated the accelerated return of overseas Chinese students. First, China's rapid and steady economic growth, especially since the 2008 international financial crisis, has provided overseas students with a distinct opportunity to utilize their talents and abilities back home; second, favorable policies put forward by the Chinese government have attracted a large number of overseas Chinese students to return and set up their own innovative enterprises in China; third, overseas Chinese students, though educated elsewhere, still identify with their motherland and have a wish to serve their country.

In addition to the accelerated flow, more talented overseas Chinese are opting to straddle careers both in China and abroad, according to analysts familiar with the matter.

The article is edited and translated from 《留学人员呈加速回流态势》, source: People's Daily, author: Sheng Ruowei, Zhao Bing.