Alter norms to attract foreign students

Minister of Education Chen Baosheng said at a news conference during the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China last month that the country will be the most attractive global destination for higher education by 2049.

But for that to happen, improvements on many fronts have to be made. Last year, the number of foreign students in China was just over 440,000, but the number of Chinese students studying abroad was 544,500. Although the tuition fees for more than 90 percent of the overseas Chinese students are paid by their families, a high percentage of the foreign students in China receive scholarships. Many Chinese youths studying overseas choose science and engineering majors, while a majority of the foreign students in China choose to study the Chinese language or traditional Chinese medicine. In addition, before getting admission to foreign universities, Chinese students are strictly tested, which means they have to be good at studies.

But China does not have a standard academic test to select foreign students. As a result, not all the foreign youths studying in China are exceptionally good in their subjects.