More and more Australian students are opting to study in China’s universities. Observers are attributing the boom to the country’s economic growth.
The number of Australians studying in Chinese universities has reached 5,000, exhibiting an 83% rise from the 2011 figure, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.
“Local Chinese companies are rising, they are becoming more and more competitive,” Beijing’s Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business associated dean of the MBA Program, Li Haitao was quoted as saying. “Economic growth, a more service-orientated economy, a more technology-focused economy have all contributed.”
Li, who recently attended a seminar on preparing business leaders for “China’s Century” in Sydney, added:
“Higher education, and in particular postgraduate study, is one of the most important pipelines into China and its economy.”
The growing Australian student population in China, however, is still a small chunk compared to the other international enrollees, according to the records of the Chinese Education Ministry. In 2015, Chinese universities have accepted 184,799 international students.
The top three countries with the most students in China are revealed to be Korea, the United States and Thailand — with Beijing, Shanghai and Zhejiang province as the the top three destinations for foreign students.
China, which currently has the second largest number of colleges and universities in the world with 2,800 tertiary institutions, is reportedly eyeing up to 500,000 foreign student enrollees by 2020.
