Slower rise in Chinese studying overseas

The number of Chinese studying abroad grew at a slower rate in 2018 compared with 2017, as more students have come to realize that overseas study does not necessarily guarantee a well-paid job on foreign shores, or back home, education experts said.

In 2018, 662,100 Chinese went abroad to study, up 8.83 percent from a year earlier, while the growth rate was 11.7 percent in 2017, according to the Ministry of Education.

Ran Wei, vice-president of New Channel International Education Group, said that while one should not read too much into the lower growth rate last year because of the large base in 2017, the major motivation for Chinese students going abroad seems to be evolving.