The studying in England consultant desk at an overseas educational consultancy services fair held in Shanghai, Oct 31, 2014. [Photo/IC]

BEIJING - A total of 409,100 Chinese students returned from overseas after graduating in 2015, said an official on Wednesday.

The returnees brings the total of returned Chinese students to over 2.21 million by the end of 2015, said Tang Tao, vice minister of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, at a multi-ministerial meeting on services for returned overseas students.

China at present has 321 industrial parks where returned overseas students can start their own businesses, housing 24,000 enterprises, according to Tang.

The vice minister said China will improve measures to persuade Chinese students to return home in 2016, including better public services and projects such as the "Thousand Talents" recruitment program for global experts launched in 2008.

A multi-ministerial meeting system was created in 2003, ordered by the State Council, to assist returned overseas Chinese students.