According to China's Ministry of Education, China has become the world's biggest exporter of overseas students, and an important overseas study destination in Asia. The numbers of overseas Chinese students, returned overseas students, and international students studying in China are all increasing rapidly.

There are three prominent features relating to Chinese students studying overseas: firstly, there has been an exponential increase in numbers; secondly, their destination countries are now spread all over the world; thirdly, the benefits of overseas study are increasing steadily. According to statistics, from 1978 to 2013, the cumulative total of overseas Chinese students was about 3 million. With the opening up of China, the number of returning overseas students has increased greatly. In 2013, about 350,000 overseas students returned to China, which is about 30 times the number in 2001. 36 years ago, only about 1,200 international students studied in China; now China has about 360,000 international students.

Destination countries have also diversified. At the beginning of China's opening up, Chinese students mainly went to the US, Japan, and other developed counties, while in 2013, overseas Chinese students studied in more than 100 countries all around the world. At the same time, international students from more than 200 countries and regions are studying in China. China has signed mutual recognition agreements on degree and education standards with 41 countries and regions.

According to a survey conducted by HAYS, a professional recruitment agency, many overseas Chinese students come back due to the bright career development prospects available to them in China.

The survey interviewed nearly 500 overseas Chinese who are considering returning to China. 49 percent of them think that intercultural communication skills are their main advantage in the job market. Bilingualism is no longer so much of an edge, since most local Chinese graduates can speak English just as well as many returnees.

The survey also shows that 67 percent of the interviewees want to work in foreign-funded enterprises. 42 percent want to work in Shanghai, 23 percent in Beijing, 9 percent in Shenzhen, and 7 percent in Guangzhou. Most of them are very optimistic about job opportunities in China. 18 percent of them believe that they can find a job in one month, and 53 percent of them believe that they can find a job in one to three months.

The article is edited and translated from《我国留学规模世界居首》, source: People's Daily Overseas Edition, author: Dong Hongliang and Shen Xitong.

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