The Chinese government will sponsor 5,000 graduate students to further their studies abroad next year, the Ministry of Education (MOE) announced on Monday.

The graduates will specialize in a wide range of subjects including energy, environment, agriculture, information technology, biology, nanotechnology, humanities and social sciences.

The program, co-launched by MOE and the Ministry of Finance in January, has sponsored 3,952 graduates abroad so far and most of them have been admitted by world-famous colleges and research institutions.

"The core issue of building world-class universities is to cultivate high-quality faculties and innovative talents," said Education Minister Zhou Ji. "It is a significant measure to select top students and send them to study abroad."

(Xinhua News Agency October 10, 2007)