Jointly conducted by Beijing University and Zhongshan University, the survey found that, among academicians over the age of 45, 58 percent of China's university professors and 51 percent of university administrators have had overseas study experience.

These scholars, many of whom have benefited from state-sponsored study-abroad programs, have helped to introduce the latest academic theories, teaching methods and materials to China's colleges, universities and research institutions and have also improved the quality of the country's higher education.

Study-abroad programs have also facilitated international academic cooperation, given the fact that about 77.3 percent of students and scholars who have returned from abroad believe that their overseas study strengthened academic cooperation between the participating countries, for example, in the areas of information-sharing and cooperative research.

Officials from the Ministry of Education noted that Chinese students are currently studying in more than 100 countries and regions and studying or conducting research in nearly every academic field.

It is estimated that, at the present time, there are more than 200,000 Chinese students or scholars in Japan and the United States, and 70,000 of these have applied for permanent residency in the two countries.

According to the Ministry of Education, however, greater numbers of students have returned to China, and these individuals have established more than 4,000 high-tech enterprises which earn more than 10 billion yuan (about 1.24 billion US dollars) in profits a year.

(People's Daily October 12, 2002)