Pharma pioneer gives returnees a shot in the arm

Medical researcher Ding Lieming returned to China in 2002 after 10 years studying and working in the United States. Having earned a degree in medicine at the University of Arkansas, Ding returned and founded Zhejiang Betta Pharmaceutical Co in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province.

"I could have lived a middle-class life if I had stayed (in the US), but I could not fulfill my dream to innovate and start my own business," he said. "In China, I can turn my research results into industrial products, but if I stayed overseas, I might have to sell the patent or research results to big pharmaceutical firms.

"I was raised with China's opening-up, received a higher education, studied abroad and returned to China to start a business."