It's apparently working. The long-standing problem of the best and brightest Chinese "minds" taking off to foreign lands to earn prestigious degrees only to forget to come back home is tapering off.

And it isn't a fluke, to hear government officials tell it.

When China began its opening up a generation ago, studying overseas became all the rage. So did earning the big salaries and the better standards of living that life abroad could offer.

Centres for language testing, such as the dreaded TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), could not seem to handle the demand from so many students wanting to take the exams. In the 1980s and 1990s, as many as 100,000 people each year took the test.

And Chinese who took flight to earn their degrees lived the good life in lands such as the United States, Canada or Europe.

Yet some found that for Chinese, it is not easy living in another culture, no matter how well trained you are. Yes, people succeed -- but not always to their full potential. Racism, no matter how subtle, often limits personal advancement. It is a fact of life.

Naturally, that situation finds many Chinese pondering whether they should return to their homeland. Some did, but others didn't, often speculating that China simply would never "catch up" with the rest of the world.

Now, such fears are disappearing. The red hot economy and the improving living standard enjoyed by Chinese is likely reversing the trend.

And the government is claiming part of the credit, citing its intense efforts to aid returnees, such as the establishment of more than 70 large business centres for returning students to begin their own businesses. The scholars can apply for loans and their families can easily receive permanent residency status. The businesses also create jobs and wealth and taxes.

Ministry of Personnel figures indicate since the end of the 1970s some 600,000 Chinese went off to study in 100 nations. About 160,000 returned home. A spokesman said the number of students expected to return this year will be 13 per cent greater than the number last year.

With the nation now feverishly completing all of its commitments to the World Trade Organization -- and involved in unprecedented economic, trade, and political commitments across the globe -- China needs every good "mind" it can find.

Beijing, too, in becoming the world-class venue it must be for the 2008 Olympics, is in dire need of the best and brightest work here. A sense of urgency is a must.

(China Daily December 23, 2003)