BEIJING -- Western Returned Scholars Association of China on Saturday launched a global job fair, named to attract Chinese studying abroad.

A total of 378 mid- to high-end positions are available in the fair's main venue in Beijing, while more than 5,000 jobs are open for applications on the association's official website.

The job fair also has 129 partner venues in 21 countries, including Britain, France and Germany.

The posts cover an extensive variety, such as bio-medicine, IT technology and financial investment.

Returned overseas students are emerging as major forces in China's national strategy of innovation and entrepreneurship.

Data from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security showed a total of 410,000 Chinese students returned from overseas after graduating in 2015, 12.1 percent higher than in 2014.

In 2015, over 520,000 Chinese students studied overseas, and the number is expected to grow in 2016.