Two other leading reasons were strong links with the home culture and fewer problems finding employment.
More than 20 per cent of those polled expected “the economic recovery would speed up with the adjustment of Covid-19 prevention measures, which then would offer more job opportunities”, the report said.
China abandoned its restrictive zero-Covid policy late last year and has refocused on reviving the Covid-ravaged economy.
04:43
China’s slow road to economic recovery after dropping its zero-Covid policies
The report also noted an increase in both job postings for returnees and job applications by them in the first week after the Lunar New Year in late January.
“We also observed that after reopening, demand among local companies for overseas talent has risen quickly. Local governments are also arranging for local companies to head overseas to attract talent,” it said.
China has deemed a strong talent pool as mission critical in the push for technological self-reliance and to counter US attempts to contain its hi-tech industry.
To cement its status in the global industrial chain, the country has also invested heavily in developing advanced manufacturing and emerging industries.
“Compared with 2021, there are more posts for professional services and consultations, pharmaceutical and biological engineering, mechanical equipment and heavy industries,” the report said.
“Corporate demand for professional services such as human resources and legal consultations continued to increase, which led to a demand for overseas-trained talent. Biological engineering and equipment manufacturing are promising sectors in China, with high demand for overseas technology specialists.”
02:24
China records second-lowest economic growth figure in almost 50 years after Covid-ravaged 2022
The report also noted growing interest in work outside the country’s megacities, with fewer applications for positions in first-tier centres.
Lower-tier cities have unveiled incentives to attract professionals and touted lower property prices and greater everyday convenience as advantages of living in those areas, efforts that have succeeded in attracting haigui, according to the report.
But more of the returnees said they preferred to work in state-owned enterprises, with 38.8 per cent preferring SOEs in 2022, up from 29.5 per cent in the 2021 survey.
In addition, more than 70 per cent of the students signalled greater interest in taking civil service exams.
Sophia Xie, 22, who will finish her master’s degree in Britain this summer, said that among her friends the longer-term plan was to return to China.
“We are certainly eager to work in Britain or other developed countries for a while after graduation, but at the same time we will also make efforts to prepare for the civil service exams in China,” Xie said.
China’s economy grew 3.0 per cent in 2022, the second worst rate of growth in more than six decades. It is widely anticipated that activity will pick up this year but the country is under pressure to create enough jobs for the record number of graduates expected to join the labour market this year.
