Program brings more pros

More than 2,000 professionals have returned to China in the past three years through the Thousand Talent Program, the Central government's initiative to attract experts from overseas.

At a meeting meant to review the program, Li Zhiyong, deputy minister of the Communist Party of China Central Committee's Organization Department, said it has encouraged 2,263 professionals to return to 29 provinces and regions in China for work.

Most of them have taken leadership positions in universities, research institutions and business enterprises, he said.

When the program was introduced in 2008, its goal was to attract 2,000 experts and scholars who had been educated overseas and encourage them to work in advanced and high-tech industries as well as start their own businesses in China in five to 10 years.

The central government and regional governments adopted policies in support of the plan.

Li Yuanchao, minister of the CPC Central Committee's Organization Department, is also calling for more professionals who were educated overseas to come to China to pursue their dreams.

"I am looking forward to learning about your adventures as you try to mix your own success with the development of China," Li said at the meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Friday morning.

Also at the event were more than 50 people who had benefited from the program. They talked about the experiences they've had since returning to China.