The Chinese government will continue to encourage more students studying abroad to return to China and urge post-doctoral researchers to cooperate with their international colleagues.
A leading personnel official made it clear that China is willing to expand international exchanges and cooperation in the area of post-doctoral research and that the authorities welcome foreign doctoral graduates to research in China.
Addressing a national conference on post-doctoral research, which ended on Saturday, Zhang Xuezhong, minister of personnel, said that by enrolling foreign doctoral graduates, China will be better able to adopt the world's most advanced technologies and experiences and promote the country's overall scientific strength.
Through international cooperation and exchanges, China has also developed a pool of talented people who have returned from overseas after earning their doctorates.
The central government "has fully realized that economic development relies on scientific advancement and highly educated people," said Zhang.
Zhang was confident that China "will soon see a rush of returning overseas students with its anticipated accession to the World Trade Organization approaching."
To date, thousands of doctors who studied overseas have returned to China to continue their research, with at least 10 percent of them working on key research projects in state-owned enterprises or research stations.
In 2001 China will invest 50 percent more than last year in post-doctoral research, and annual funds will continue to be increased by 10 million yuan (US$1.2 million) in the years to come.
The funds earmarked for post-doctoral research are expected to reach 100 million yuan (US$12 million) by 2005, the end of the 10th Five-Year Plan period (2001-05).
The "post-doctoral" programme began in 1985, when famous physician Tsung-dao Lee suggested that top Chinese leaders set up a system to train people to a high level.
To ensure the establishment of such a system, the central government has introduced a series of preferential policies, concerning wages, welfare and family provision, and issued more than 50 regulations.
(China Daily 04/23/2001)
