Nan Tu

　　With China's accession to the World Trade Organization, the country has opened up to foreign enterprise at lightning speed. Multinational companies are setting up offices in China in droves, and more local companies are doing business with foreign clients. Mainlanders who have been trained overseas and have bi-cultural experience edge out their local counterparts for jobs in these areas.

　　"My overseas degree allows me to compete with the graduates from the top universities in China," says Kathy Han, who did her undergraduate degree in Business Administration at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, and is currently working for the UNDP (China). "I feel I stand a better chance at job interviews because I now have more knowledge, international experience and a broader way of looking at life. Or it could be for the simple reason that my stint abroad has made me more confident of myself."

　　Fang Jian, 35, whose company Zenotimes Consulting offers services in event planning, trade and communication, believes employers choose employees depending on the organization's needs, rather than where their degree is from. However, he admits that big companies demand - and can pay for - highly qualified professionals who have obtained higher degrees, usually from overseas. Depending on their course of study, foreign-trained personnel have been exposed to up-to-date technology and are trained in modern concepts in managing business. They have also acquired an East-West experience that is increasingly useful in the face of globalization.

　　Armed with foreign degrees and fully integrated into life in their university's homeland, many Chinese students find their job prospects after graduation to be better abroad. True, only about 13% of overseas students return to China each year, reports the Ministry of Education - but the percentage is a record high.