Shanghai, Beijing and Hangzhou most popular destinations for

The 2020 Chinese Overseas Students Conference was held in Hangzhou in East China's Zhejiang Province Sunday, where a white paper on Chinese overseas students' development was released.

The white paper presents the development status and demand expectations of Chinese overseas returnees in multiple dimensions, including the outlook on employment and entrepreneurship, and their intentions of returning to China.

According to the white paper, overseas returnees are currently younger in China with the 25-35 age group accounting for the largest proportion of 74.87 percent, while those aged 25-30 accounted for 44.67percent.

Almost 80 percent of returnees have earned a Master's degree or above. Business administration and finance are the two majors with the highest proportion of overseas students, accounting for 4.22 percent and 3.98 percent respectively.

Most returning students expect to work in the financial sector and the rapidly developing Internet sector, according to the white paper.

Salaries paid by Chinese companies to outstanding talents are close to those in developed countries.

Average annual salaries of returnees in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou in Guangdong Province are the highest, reaching 356,700 yuan ($53,952), 349,600 yuan, 328,200 yuan and 295,300 yuan respectively. 

Hangzhou in East China's Zhejiang Province, provides overseas students with salaries almost comparable to those in first-tier cities, with an average annual salary of 282,800 yuan. Hangzhou ranked first in salary increases, with an average annual salary increase of 31.84 percent, followed by Beijing at 30.09 percent.

The white paper notes that 76.52 percent of overseas students are satisfied with their current job. Returned students in Shenzhen, Hangzhou, and Shanghai are highly satisfied with their jobs

Shanghai, Beijing and Hangzhou are the most popular cities among overseas students.

The choice of cities for overseas returnees to start a business and obtain employment is no longer limited to the first-tier cities as new second-tier cities represented by Hangzhou are emerging.

The majority of overseas students are full of expectations for returning to China. More and more returned overseas students have realized their value in major cities and have continued confidence in the future, according to the white paper.