A Chinese graduate talks with Shen Quanhong (right), general manager of Tusstar, a Chinese business incubator, about startup opportunities in Beijing during the 2016 Chunhui Cup awards ceremony and networking event at the Chinese Consulate General in New York on Oct 28.

The Chunhui Cup Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition for Overseas Chinese Students, sponsored by China's Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science and Technology, is an effort to encourage Chinese oversea's startup ideas.

This year, 188 applicants, residing in or around the New York City area, submitted business plans, and 76 proposals were honored. Over the past 11 years, the competition has selected nearly 2,001 innovative and entrepreneurial programs created by overseas Chinese students and professionals and hundreds of them are up-and-running businesses in China today.

Cheng Leidai, consul general at the Chinese Consulate General in New York, said on Friday that one of the main purposes of the Chunhui Cup was to encourage talented individuals from around the world to seek out China as a place to start and grow new business.

More than 300 delegates from over 40 Chinese business incubator and startup agencies also joined the networking event to attract more Chinese overseas to come back to China. JUDY ZHU / FOR CHINA DAILY