China will sponsor 7,245 people to study abroad in 2005 in the fields of science, technology, culture, education and management, according to the China Scholarship Council (CSC).
  
The number, about 3,100 more than that of 2004, is the largest in the past more than two decades.
  
The CSC said the application and approval process for government funding will take place from Jan. 5 to March 10, 2005. Details are available on the council's website, www.csc.edu.cn. 
  
The government-funded program includes seven research fields: telecommunication and information technology, agricultural high technology, life sciences and public health, material sciences and new materials, energy and environment, engineering, applicable sociology and WTO-related studies.
  
The CSC has sponsored 18,167 citizens for overseas study since 1996, of whom 15,092 have finished their study and returned, according to CSC statistics. 

(Xinhua News Agency December 10, 2004)