Context

The British Council supports peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding, and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide. In China, we are committed to deepening engagement between people in the UK and China by working directly with individuals, governments, and our partners in the education sector.

The pandemic and its prolonged impacts are challenging for all of us. The objective of this China Education FAQ is to address questions frequently asked and concerns commonly shared by our partners about China.

Topics Covered in this FAQ

  • International Student Recruitment
  • Partnerships
  • Research Collaborations
  • Policy and Regulations

Contact Us

  • We want to hear your comments and suggestions about this FAQ. Meanwhile, if you have any questions that have not been covered in this FAQ, please feel free to contact us!
  • E-mail: ies.china@britishcouncil.org.cn

International Student Recruitment

  • How is the UK doing in terms of international student recruitment? How is the student mobility in China?

According to the UK Home Office, the number of study visa issuance rebounded in 2021 (c. 363,000), far above the pre-pandemic level in 2019 (c. 275,000).

Chinese students have been the largest source of international students for UK universities. China shares 24% of international HE students in the UK in 2020/21, a slight decline compared to 2019/20 level at 26% due to the pandemic. However, data from the UK Home Office shows substantial growth in student visa grants to Chinese nationals in 2021 compared to 2020, which indicates the recovery is undergoing. While only 81,622 study visas were issued to Chinese nationals in 2021, HESA data shows that, 98,250 new Chinese students enrolled on UK HE programmes for 2020/21. This discrepancy is primarily due to the large number of Chinese students studying online from China because of the pandemic. We are however seeing for the very first time that India has overtaken China as the UK’s main recipient of study visas for the first three quarters of 2022. Almost 109,000 visas were issued to Indian students, up 76% compared to the first three quarters of 2021. In contrast the number of visas issued to citizens of Mainland China fell slightly, declining by 2% to 98,736.

You may wish to check our report on East Asia Student Mobility for more information.

  • Is there any support/scheme from British Council for Chinese students who wish to conduct post-study job hunting in the UK post-graduation?

The British Council China aims to enhance UK alumni’s employability, provide access to professional development opportunities, and expand their networks to facilitate stronger and deeper relationships with and among UK alumni.

We are engaging with more than 50,000 alumni on China’s UK alumni platform. We aim to support UK alumni’ career development through Job Fairs, careers development roadshows, and a series of Masterclass sessions to increase the engagement of UK alumni on career development in China and the UK, allowing alumni to benefit from the policy interpretation, professional advice and successful experiences shared by the professionals, recruiters, and alumni representatives. Since 2015, the Study UK Alumni Awards has been organised every two years to celebrate and showcase the impact and value of a UK higher education and raise the profile and reputation of UK alumni, their former universities, and the whole of UK education. More than 50 UK alumni in China were recognised for their outstanding achievements as business professionals, entrepreneurs and community leaders, and for their contribution to strengthening ties between the UK and China.

Find us on Weibo @留英校友会AlumniUK and WeChat @Alumni_UK.

All international UK alumni who have spent at least one term studying at a UK higher education institution, including transnational education and online learning, are invited to join the global Alumni UK network where registration is free: register now!

More details about Alumni UK are available here.

  • For universities that are new to these markets, what is best practice when establishing a presence there and building your brand/reputation for the purposes of student recruitment?

Student recruitment strategies by universities usually consist of a series of actions and practices, which can vary in terms of depth and breath. These strategies are determined by resources that are available and can be allocated to the local market. Here are some tips:

  • Social media: Digital marketing is popular and very accessible to promote your university in China. However, please note that the access to some SNS platforms (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube) are restricted in China. It would be a better idea to set up accounts on local SNS platforms (e.g., WeChat, Weibo, Little red book, BiliBili, Douyin) and work with influencers (KOLs).
  • Partnership: Building partnerships with local study abroad consulting agencies is another common practice. Agencies have access to a pool of potential candidates. They can help universities to promote brands, identify and recruit targeted students.
  • Staffing: Universities that has long-term engagement with China commonly have designated staff members based in China or liaising with China on a regular basis. Although staffing can be difficult in the beginning, regular face to face interactions with Chinese stakeholders are key to sustain a long-term recruitment and engagement strategy.
  • Representative Office (RO)/Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprise (WFOE): To deepen the relationship with Chinese students, scholars, and institutes, some universities choose to establish local entities. Depending on the depth of the engagement, universities may choose to set up ROs or WOFEs. A RO, usually acting as a liaison office, is a legal entity but does not have legal personality. Accordingly, it cannot be a direct signatory of business or employment contracts. WFOEs, on the other hand, have full legal rights to sign contracts and conduct business activities. (This requires long term investment and engagement, universities who are new to the China market should consider thoroughly before making commitment)
  • China Competency: There is a clear imbalance between China’s understanding of the UK and the UK’s understanding of China. Participating in inter-cultural programmes and encouraging international service mobility of academic and professional staff are good ways to start with.

 

  • What is the level of interest for summer schools in China? Is long-distance travel for short course study in the UK now in permanent decline?

The level of mobility of international travel has been affected by the pandemic and subsequent travel controls in China (e.g., centralised quarantine for all inbound passengers, pre-departure COVID testing, circuit breaker of flight bans). Compared to long-term (one year and above) courses, short-term courses face more challenges since travel curbs are likely to make students and parents hesitate to come and go in a short period of time.

Recently, China has eased some of its COVID restrictions, including shortening quarantine time for inbound travellers, reducing pre-departure COVID test requirement, and abolishing the international flight ban. These measures are likely to have positive effects on students’ tendency to choose international short-term courses in the coming years. Nevertheless, we are still uncertain about how effectively and efficiently these measures can be implemented. So far, tight travel controls are still in place in most cities in China.

  • What is the appetite for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) among Chinese university academics and professional staff?

In general, CPD in China focuses on domestic qualification trainings (e.g., civil service examines, national teaching qualification, public accountant certification), English/foreign language trainings, and other international qualification trainings (e.g., MBA, CFA). Compared to domestic qualification trainings, foreign language and international qualification trainings are disproportionately small.

Although no segmented data is available for university faculty members or professional staff, we believe professional staff may share similar preference with the public. As for academic faculty members, CPD is not commonly considered as a career development tool compared to visiting scholar programmes and research funding programmes, which are more constructive to their academic development.

  • Are UK universities seen as good sources of CPD training in China?

Since domestic qualification training are in greatest demand, the market share of overseas CPD training in China is limited. Even within China, an increasing number of learners choose online courses over in-person trainings. Apart from the trend of digitalisation, this is also due to the COVID pandemic and its effect on mobility. Besides these challenges, UK universities are generally seen as good sources of providing international qualification trainings.

Partnerships

  • The future of TNE in China. Is there an appetite for UK Transnational Education (TNE) partnerships (franchise/ UK HE partner study centres) in China?

China is the No.1 host for the UK TNE partnerships. The UK has also led the development of course and qualification exports in China, with over 250 joint degree partnerships in operation. Over 60,000 students were studying for UK higher education qualifications in China in 2020-21.  

There is still a strong demand for UK TNE partnerships in China, which is due, in part, to the pandemic, with travel difficulties and lockdowns raising the attractiveness of receiving an in-person UK education, all while staying closer to home. TNE is also one of the priority areas of Chinese universities’ internationalisation strategy.  

TNE programmes in China include full foreign university degree programmes offered through local partner institutions and joint venture campuses. Chinese law does not allow overseas higher education institutions to independently teach their own courses in China. This means that UK universities are not able to offer franchised programmes that award an overseas degree based entirely on teaching delivered by the local partner.

Research Collaborations

  • The future of bilateral science and research collaborations between the UK and China. Will this be affected by the pandemic and geopolitics?

China is the UK’s second most frequent research collaborator and the rise of China in the world rankings of universities presents valuable opportunities in postgraduate and research collaborations for UK universities. Whilst it is crucial to consider security implications, we also need to consider the risk of non-collaboration. Partnering with China responsibly will ensure that UK researchers and innovators continue to be critical global partners in driving solutions to many of the world’s greatest challenges including climate change, pandemic preparedness, and biodiversity loss. 

‘Trusted Research’ is a term used across government, and the research and innovation sector, to protect the UK’s intellectual property, sensitive research, people and infrastructure from potential theft, misuse, and exploitation, including as a result of hostile activity by state and other actors. In this context, there are established programmes of work on managing security and related risks in international higher education. We work to ensure our partner institutions are aware of and understand the nature of risks posted by these issues, and that they have the capability and capacity to respond appropriately.

The British Council Going Global Partnership Enabling Grants is a good example for fostering UK-China institutional partnerships through academic collaboration. The programme is designed to enable effective UK-China higher education and research collaboration through sharing knowledge and principles of good practice, whilst cooperating on research and capacity building. Selected projects cover several areas including developing a joint digital innovation platform, creating research knowledge exchange, enabling collaborative academic development, research & entrepreneurship, establishing a UK-China net-zero engineering innovation centre, and many others. In addition to existing programmes, we are working with the government and other UK partners to deliver new initiatives and funding opportunities in the coming year to deepen science and research partnerships between the UK and China.

Policy and Regulation

  • Will China recover or should we be looking elsewhere?

The COVID pandemic has caused negative social and economic effects as well as limited mobility. Nevertheless, China remains the world’s largest outbound student market. The number of UK study visas issued to Chinese nationals in 2021 was almost back to its pre-pandemic level (2019), and while data for the first three quarters of 2022 shows a slight decline this is in a context of continued COVID-related travel restrictions and economic difficulties. This shows that there is still strong demand for UK study.

Over the longer term, as with China’s economic growth, the growth rate of outbound Chinese students in the coming years is likely to slow down compared to the rapid growth in the not-so-distant past. It is possible that student numbers may peak and start to decline. However, China will continue to be one of the UK’s top student sources and the country also has advantages in terms of student quality. In addition to student recruitment opportunities, scholarly engagement between China and UK institutions is likely to continue to become more prominent as China’s research power grows. China is now the UK’s second largest science and research partner after the US.  Hence, China will still be an important market for UK HEIs.

  • Is China's stance on the validity of Distance Learning courses likely to change?

China does not recognise the validity of higher education qualifications by completing distance learning courses. While the Ministry of Education has relaxed its policy on recognising qualifications completed through distance learning due to the pandemic (courses originally intended for face-to-face instruction), fully distance-learning programmes will not be recognised. Therefore, China only recognises qualifications awarded from face-to-face instructed programmes, and this stance is unlikely to change.

In March 2022, The British Council and the Department for International Trade, in cooperation with the Open University of China, have conducted research on online higher education provision in China. Our report can help the UK higher education sector understand the situation for distance learning in China and better support their Chinese students.

  •  The latest COVID policy updates

Since China issued a list of 20 measures to optimize its covid prevention and control strategy on 11 Nov (such as shorten centralised quarantine for inbound travellers from 7+3 to 5+3; reduce pre-departure COVID test requirement from twice to one in 48 hours; abolish international flights suspension policy “the circuit breaker”), we saw pandemic escalation and outbreaks in several major cities across China and a series of large scale lockdowns in Beijing, Chongqing, Guangzhou and several other cities, followed by demonstrations in many places. Then by end of November, we have seen a swift turning.

lockdowns have been lifted in most places and Covid tests have been cancelled.

Central government officials have recently started pointing out Omicron patients have significantly lower heavy system and death rates compared to earlier variants.

Both local government-affiliated and relatively independent media outlets have recently run stories about COVID patients recovering from illness unharmed.

The State Council inter-agency COVID-19 team released a work plan to boost vaccinations for the elderly population.

And there is already anecdotal evidence that some positive cases have been allowed to quarantine at home in both Beijing and Guangzhou (Fortune China). All the signs indicate that the zero-COVID policy is finally turning after almost three years. We believe this will be a slow and gradual process. We won’t see lockdowns go away overnight, but it’s clear that China is taking steps toward living with COVID. We still advise that international travellers should monitor the situation closely before making any travel plans to China.