Seeking better job options, more Chinese students returning home after graduating
Government figures show higher ratio of students coming back to China last year, with better employment prospects and support networks cited by many
More young Chinese studying abroad are opting to return home, many of them citing better job prospects in China.
The government said this month that 82.23 per cent of students who studied abroad returned to China last year, up from 72.38 per cent in 2012.
Wuhan-born Will Tong Chen was studying and working for 17 years in New Zealand, but returned to China four months ago, citing more opportunities due to a vastly larger economy.
“I came back to [work in] Beijing because I love the atmosphere and I see the opportunities for doing business here,” said Chen, a project manager.
Chen said many other young Chinese he knew had also left New Zealand because the country’s market was too small. “Most of them came back to China because they probably can’t get a decent job in New Zealand,” he said. “Reality is tough.”
Qinyue Yu, a student at Columbia University from Nanjing, said it would be easier to find work in China, where she and many of her Chinese classmates already had connections.