Well-known scholars from China's mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan gathered in Fuzhou University, south China's Fujian province on July 2,2005, holding discussions on the socio-economic development and social integration of overseas Chinese communities, according to Xinhua.

The participants believed that since the 21st century, new characteristics have emerged among overseas Chinese communities, the most prominent of which are the changed the distribution and makeup of overseas Chinese.

Scholars pointed out that overseas Chinese used to gather in Southeast Asia. However, with China's opening to the outside world, emigrants from China's mainland flocked overseas, ending up a new group of overseas Chinese living mainly in North America, Europe, Central and South America, Australia, Japan and South Africa.

With advances in economy, science and technology, overseas Chinese communities have undergne profound changes over the recent years.

By People's Daily Online