Summary

China’s Ministry of Education has released details of the number of international students studying in China in 2017. The number of overseas students studying in the country has increased by slightly over 10 per cent to around 489,200. Around half of students were studying for a Chinese HE qualification, and these students grew at a significantly faster rate compared to non-degree students (including students on exchange years and short courses as well as non-HE students). The fastest growth was seen in students studying for a postgraduate degree (Masters or PhD), who now number around 75,800.

The regional origin of China’s international students is also increasingly dominated by nearby countries involved in China’s Belt and Road policy who have grown at a faster rate than overall student numbers. Thailand and Pakistan have both overtaken the US to become China’s second and third largest sending countries respectively, while South Korea still remains in first place.

Based on these statistics, there has been strong growth both in self-funded students and in students receiving Chinese government scholarships – the latter grew by around 12 per cent, slightly faster than the overall increase, with around 58,600 scholarship-funded students in 2017. The majority of these scholarships go to students studying full HE programmes, particularly at the postgraduate level where more than half of overseas students are scholarship-funded.

Analysis by Kevin Prest, Senior Analyst, SIEM East Asia

Continuing improvements to China’s universities and government policies supporting inbound international students mean that the country is attracting more and more international students. A large number of these students are studying on English-medium programmes, which are offered by a large proportion of the country’s universities.

Although China’s cost advantages mean that many of its incoming students would likely not have been able to consider studying in the UK or other major English-speaking countries, it is nevertheless becoming an increasingly important competitor, especially in developing countries close to China.

Source

Ministry of Education (in Chinese): http://www.moe.edu.cn/jyb_xwfb/gzdt_gzdt/s5987/201803/t20180329_331772.html