The fifth Guangzhou science and technology exchange exposition for returned Chinese students from overseas study opened Saturday in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province.
The exposition, one of a series held nationwide to encourage returned students to set up businesses in China, is sponsored by the Ministries of Education, Personnel, and Science and Technology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Guangzhou City People's Government.
More than 2,200 students have signed up for the event, 85 percent of them hold a master's degree or above, according to the organizing committee.
Among the applicants, 29 percent are seeking business partners, 29 percent want academic exchanges, 14 percent intend to set up a business in the country and 17 percent want jobs.
They submitted 1,332 projects on information technology, biological technology, new materials, new energy and environmental protection.
Since the first such event was organized in 1998, more than 50 high-tech parks have been specially assigned across the country for returned students to set up new ventures.
(Xinhua News Agency December 30, 2002)