Back home to the land of opportunity

80 percent of Chinese studying at overseas universities return to their homeland to fulfill their potential after graduation

Decades ago, Chinese students who returned from studying overseas usually did so out of patriotism - to do their bit in reviving the homeland.

Nowadays, however, they are more likely to return because of the opportunities that exist to develop their full potential.

Reasons behind the increasing number of returnees vary. But they can be linked to one simple fact: An ever-stronger China, both economically and culturally, is becoming increasingly attractive.

"I took only three minutes to make my final decision," says Zhang Ji, a returnee from Canada, recalling how he made up his mind to return to China to start his own business.

Zhang returned in 2009, bringing back a world-leading heart valve implantation system.

After giving a 30-minute presentation about his plans to develop the system, Zhang received investment commitments of 10 million yuan ($1.4 million; 1.35 million euros; 1.19 million) from domestic entrepreneurs. He also received strong policy support and a green light from the authorities.

But with opportunities come challenges.

Dedicating himself to innovation, research and development in China, Zhang found it hard to update his medical license in Canada and had to give up his good-paying job there.

In Canada, he could earn in five days what he gets paid in China in a month. Some of Zhang's friends didn't understand why he chose to return, saying he had made a "silly" choice. But Zhang thought otherwise.

"Yes, I quit an 'iron rice bowl' job, but I got the opportunity to fulfill my dreams, to start up my own business," Zhang says, speaking of his decsion to walk away from secure employment.

He believes his enterprise has huge potential.

In contrast with Zhang's quick decision, Li Peixiang took time to make up his mind.

He had already made his mark in Canada's biological materials industry through 20 years of hard work. His company, ABM, was identified by the Canadian government as one of the five most-promising enterprises in Vancouver.

Li took part in the Nanjing "321 Talents Program" in late 2012. He was successful and soon received investments and subsidies from the local government. He was also impressed by the insights of many local officials and investors on the subject of biological materials.

After this first step, Li became more ambitious, setting up another new company in Zhenjiang, a city in eastern Jiangsu province.

"I hope sales will reach 100 million yuan and the company can be listed on the stock market in five years," Li says.

Cao Zuonan, an ecology student at Germany's University of Tuebingen, had just received approval for his graduate design program - research into soil nutrients in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. He is about to return to China to collect soil samples.

"I can go home next month," he says.

Cao, born in the 1990s, spent the first 18 years of his life in Xining, Qinghai province. As he studied in Germany, he yearned to return to the magnificent plateau and his hometown.

He made up his mind to return to China because he wants to dedicate himself to environmental protection.

"I have to be grateful. I have been thinking about how I can pay back to my parents, my fellow countrymen and the land that brought me up," Cao says.

Ding Xianfeng still relishes his decision to leave California's Silicon Valley to join Chinese technology company Huawei.

"If I hadn't quit the job of sensor system platform architect at Intel and returned to serve as director and chief scientist at Huawei's sensor lab, I would not have become a leader in the world's sensor industry," Ding says.

Huawei, one of the top three research companies for the mobile application of sensors, enjoys an enormous competitive edge.

"Compared with working in the United States, my influence on the development of the sensor industry in the world has grown hundreds of times. I represent a purchaser who needs sensors worth $2 billion," Ding says.

Many returnees say they returned to China because of the "glass ceiling" in other countries, meaning foreigners can rarely reach the top of the ladder no matter how talented and hardworking they are.

"Only when you are back in China can you develop core strategies," Ding says.

Huang Xiaobo had similar concerns.

"Most of my classmates studied abroad, but many of them are just doing trivial jobs, their talent wasted," says Huang.

After years of hard work, Huang has become director of the Institute of Lithotripsy Application at Peking University and an academic leader in the Department of Urology at Peking University People's Hospital.

He does not regret his decision to return to China.

"Urology is one of the popular professions in the United States, but it is unlikely that a Chinese person could become head of the urology department at a mainstream US hospital," Huang says.

According to the Chinese Education Ministry, around 80 percent of overseas students have returned home in recent years, compared with about one-third in 2006.

The Chinese government at all levels is striving to entice students back. For example, China now has 300 industrial parks aimed at incubating startups led by returnees. Witnessing the continually thriving motherland and seeing government incentives and business opportunities, more and more people, without much hesitation, are packing their bags for the flight home.