In an effort to lure Chinese students studying abroad to come back to "serve for the construction of the motherland," China will work out "more effective measures and create a better environment," a senior personnel official said in Jinan, the capital of Shandong Province, on Sunday.

Speaking at the third China Shandong Overseas Personnel Exchange Fair in Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong Province, Zhang Bolin, China's minister of personnel, said that China will put as much importance on wooing talented students studying overseas to come back as it has placed on the introduction of foreign funds, advanced technologies and modern management mechanisms.

"China will make returned students an important part of its strategy to build up national strength with talented people and will create a better environment for talented returned students to serve the motherland," Zhang said.

The Communist Party of China and the central government attach great importance to the work on students studying abroad and have adopted a series of policies to encourage them to return, he said.

The government reports that more than 20,000 Chinese students studying abroad returned last year, while the number was 18,000 in2002 and 12,000 in 2001.

Zhang said the number of returned students is expected to hit anew record this year.
 
(Xinhua News Agency November 15, 2004)