China's economic might is attracting more overseas Chinese students home, with over 2.6 million having already returned and their numbers still growing, government data shows.
The total of Chinese overseas students who have returned to China is increasing years after year, with more than 432,000 students returning in 2016, the highest since the establishment of China, when only 248 returned, Yang Tao, the deputy minister of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said Tuesday.
More than 660,000 Chinese overseas students are expected to return to China in 2017, according to a report by overseas recruitment company Lockin China in March.
Many are compelled to return because of limited foreign job opportunities, and because their families want to keep their children close to them.
Optimism in the growth of China's economy and anti-immigration sentiment in some foreign nations are two other reasons why many choose to return, according to Lockin China.