The Ministry of Education released figures last week showing the number of overseas students in Mainland China. Over 397,000 international students studied in China in 2015 (not including students from Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan), an increase of 5% compared to 2014. The number of these students receiving funding from the Chinese government increased by 10% to 40,600 while the number of students studying for formal qualifications also increased faster than the overall growth in student numbers, particularly at the postgraduate level.

Growth is largely coming from developing countries, with a 20% rise in African students and a 7% rise in students from Asia. Among the top 15 sending countries, those seeing the fastest growth were India, Laos and Pakistan. Meanwhile, the number of Western students studying in China seems to be declining – students from Europe fell by 1% and the number from the Americas fell 3%, with the USA and Germany seeing the largest drops in student numbers among the major source countries. The UK was pushed out of the top 15 ranking after holding the #15 spot last year.

Beijing and Shanghai are still by far the largest destinations for international students in China but both of these cities, along with the directly-governed municipality of Tianjin, saw small drops in international student numbers. The provinces with the largest absolute increases in student numbers were Zhejiang and Jiangsu in East China, but the fastest percentage growth was in West China's Yunnan province.

Analysis by Kevin Prest, Senior Analyst Analysis and Liu Xiaoxiao, Education Services Manager:

The strong growth in students from developing countries and slight fall in those from Western countries may reflect a re-focusing of Chinese universities' internationalisation efforts, particularly towards countries included in the Belt and Road Initiative (also known as One Belt One Road or OBOR). Several key countries involved in this initiative saw strong growth in China-bound students, including India and Kazakhstan. The country's new five year plan sets out educational links with OBOR countries as a priority, which suggests that they will continue to play an important role in future years.

Similarly, Yunnan's fast growth in international students reflects government policies to support education in the less-developed central and western areas of the country. Chinese government scholarships have recently focused on students studying in these central and western provinces, particularly students from surrounding countries.

Outside of China these figures also show that the country is becoming an increasingly strong competitor in developing markets, partly due to its strong cost advantage over traditional destinations like the UK or USA. Many Chinese universities now offer undergraduate and master's degree programmes taught in English which are proving particularly popular among students from South Asian countries like India.

Source:

1. http://www.moe.edu.cn/jyb_xwfb/gzdt_gzdt/s5987/201604/t20160414_238263.html