"I also traveled as much as I could to broaden my cultural horizons, and that enhanced my understanding of my home country. By the time I was due to return home, I had made many new friends," Li said.

In 1993 - by then one of the leading thoracic surgeons in China - Li was made a doctoral advisor at his university.

According to figures from the Ministry of Education, more than 62 percent of doctoral advisors, 77 percent of university presidents and 80 percent of members of China's academies of science and engineering have studied abroad.

Others with experience of foreign study have gone on to become leading figures in science, industry and politics.

Wan Gang, who was last year appointed minister of science and technology, is one of them.

After earning a doctorate in engineering at the Technical University of Clausthal-Zellerfeld in Germany, he worked for German car manufacturer Audi for 10 years. In 2000, he returned to his hometown of Shanghai and was later appointed president of Tongji University.

According to the Ministry of Education, of all the students that studied abroad last year, about 90 percent paid their own way. More than 8,800 students were funded by the government, up 59 percent on 2006.

Liu Jiamou, a student in his late 20s, is currently studying for a PhD in computer science in New Zealand.

He said he had recently secured a job with computer giant Microsoft, which he will take up on his return to Beijing in the next few months.

Yu Minhong, chairman of English-language training company Beijing New Oriental Group, said yesterday: "China's domestic business environment has significantly improved and more students would like to come back.

"In 1997, when I asked Chinese students at US universities 'Do you want to return home to work after graduation?' less than a third raised their hands," Yu said.

Last year, when he asked the same question at a Harvard Business School lecture, the "yes" response was 100 percent, he said.

(China Daily October 17, 2008)