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Students overseas to double

By Zhu Zhe (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-10-17 08:45

The number of Chinese studying abroad is expected to reach 200,000 in 2010, almost double last year's 118,500, a senior official said on Sunday.

Among them, about 10,000 will be State-sponsored students in key areas such as telecommunications, IT, technology and environment. This number would be a 40 per cent increase over the 2005 figure.

Zhang Xinsheng, vice-minister of education, also estimated that in the year 2020 the number of Chinese students overseas would reach 300,000. This would include 20,000 on the State-sponsored Study Abroad Programme.

Figures from the Ministry of Education show that since 1978 about 930,000 Chinese students have left the country to study, and 230,000 of them have returned.

Zhang described this particular group of students as "the country's great treasure," as they have brought back advanced technology and management skills, as well as a global outlook.

Zhang also said that China would further promote the learning of the Chinese language around the world.