BEIJING - China has received a total of 870,000 international students since it launched its reform and opening-up drive in the late 1970s, said an official with the Ministry of Education.

Zhang Xinsheng, vice Minister of Education, said in 2004 alone, China received more than 110,000 international students from 178 countries. 30 percent of them studied in China to obtain a degree.

He said China has signed governmental agreements on mutual recognition of schooling records with 26 countries. This shows that China's higher education is internationally recognized, he said. International students can earn academic degrees in China before finding employment in their own countries.

At the end of 2004, the Chinese government had assigned Chinese language teachers to 62 countries and more than 30 million people were learning Chinese overseas.

Currently, 87 cities in 35 countries and regions have launched the Chinese Proficiency Test (HSK), and 330,000 foreigners have taken part in the test.