China’s institutions for higher education are populated by approximately 500,000 international students as of recent data. The country is starting to emerge as one of the premier destinations for international students.
Encouraging international students to China
Over the last decade, the number of international students coming to China has drastically increased. The Chinese government was lauded for its extra effort in making China a competitive ground for higher education.
Several international schools have also opened branches in China through the country’s free trade zone policies. One of China’s most recent feats was the Cambridge-Nanjing research and development partnership.
Other known international schools that started an education partnership with China are as follows:
Stanford University, University of California, Oxford University, The National University of Singapore, Imperial College London, and the Australian National University.
Income from self-funding international students
The increase in international students coming to China promotes positive growth in the country’s GDP. Just this 2019, the difference between students outgoing and incoming to China was just around 100,000. This translates into better income for the education sector, especially from self-funding international students.
The ultimate goal of China’s international student policy aside from economic growth is the recognition it brings to the country for having a world-class education, competitive enough to be compared to the likes of top universities in the UK and the US.
Educating students from other countries is a way for China to win over hearts and minds, as well as an opportunity to further develop and reform the country’s education system
-Josef Mahoney, Politics professor at East China Normal University
China is clearly recognized as a powerhouse in Asia. Now, it wants to impart it to the world, not through militarization but by means of education. Attracting foreigners into China exposes them to the culture and values of traditional Chinese. This will create an invisible bond of commitment towards a Chinese attachment.
Japan noses US out of the favored destinations list
A neighboring Asian country Japan also had the same goal as China in promoting the country’s legacy by attracting international students.
This is the perfect time for the Asian brand of education to be recognized worldwide. With recent political concerns against the current US administration, several international students are less likely to consider studying in the US, which makes it favorable to either the UK universities or China.
In Asia, China has clearly shown dominance in providing drastic improvements in the education sector. With its current policies, it is expected that they will continue to hold this dominance for quite a long time.
