US and European companies recognised a decade ago that if they wanted to expand into overseas markets such as China or Brazil,then recruiting US or European-educated MBA graduates from those countries paid dividends.

Now Chinese companies are learning the same lesson. They are recruiting international MBA students from China’s top business schools to work in China for a period and then spearhead the company’s overseas expansion plans. Big Chinese brands such as Lenovo, the computer manufacturer, as well as the Chinese investment banks, are all converts.

However, as yet few companies are hiring non-Chinese graduates from Chinese business schools systematically, says Maximilian Johnson, vice-president of the British Chamber of Commerce in China.