BEIJING, May 2 -- A group of Chinese entrepreneurs educated overseas has publicly criticised controversial remarks made by Dong Mingzhu, chairman of Gree Group, after she suggested that returnees from abroad could be spies.

Dong, often referred to as China's "home appliance queen", reportedly told a closed-door shareholder meeting last week that her company would "never use a haigui pai", or those who have studied or worked abroad, because of the potential risk they pose.

"There could be spies among them," she warned, according to a leaked account of the meeting that has since sparked public outcry.

In a sharply worded open letter published on Monday, the Society of Younger Generation Entrepreneurs Returned from Overseas of Shanxi Prov...