Zhang is now working with Tsinghua University in Beijing and several universities in Dalian.

"I have to make sure that once they finish their degrees, Dalian is the place they are willing to stay at," he says.

He is also working with students studying overseas to ensure that "once they return, the company will become their career choice".

While people like Zhang enjoy favorable government policies, Li is working hard.

As the education service agency is a relatively new industry, and he did not receive any preferential policy from OCS this year, Li is raising funds from angel investors, such as Xu.

"Compared with those who studied abroad during the 1990s, overseas returnees like Li are very different," Xu says. "They've stayed abroad for a long time, sometimes since middle school. They grew up with both Oriental and Western culture, and their experience was much more ground-breaking."

Huang Teng, head of Xi'an International University, who also started his own education business in 1992, thinks that China still has a lot to do for young business starters.

"When I started the school in 1992, most entrepreneurs like us lacked good ideas about business due to the confined social environment," Huang says.

"But this generation is best at ideas. When I was in the US, I noticed that many universities have majors that teach students how to start their own business. I hope our country will do the same to help young entrepreneurs."

Huang's university has been helping more than 3,000 graduates run their own business since 1992.

He hasn't gone to bed before 2 am since the company started as he has been studying the service and marketing strategies of other well-known education agencies.

"I have to say that returning to China and starting my own business has been tough," Li says.

"Overseas experience doesn't make it any easier for me than other entrepreneurs. When I recruited my first employee, a certificate from Kyoto University did not make me any more credible than other young bosses.

"But I still encourage students to study overseas. No matter what you do afterward, overseas experience builds confidence and broadens horizons.

"You will be sure about yourself, and when you come back, even if you start your business the hard way like I did, you see a whole different world in yourself. It's a great treasure."

Contact the writer at zhangyue@chinadaily.com.cn