Young Chinese more driven than their Western peers

Lazy, demanding and too idealistic - it's a common conception of "millennials", young people born roughly between 1984 and 1996.

But a new study suggests Chinese millennials are in fact highly ambitious and place greater value on international work experience than their peers in Britain and the United States.

Some 19 per cent of millennials on the mainland expect to be managers within two years of graduating from university.

In India, expectations are even higher, with 37 per cent aiming to be a manager within a year.

Millennials in Asia also value global work experience much more than their Western counterparts, with 65 per cent in India and 47 per cent in mainland China planning to work overseas in the next five years. This compares with 18 per cent in the US and 29 per cent in Britain.

"It's a global world, in which millennials from India and China express a greater interest in participating," said Parveez Modak, Asia practice leader for employee communication and engagement for MSL Group, the public relations company which commissioned the study.