China now world's 3rd most-popular destination for international students

As China continues to open up, many of those coming in are international students, according to a latest report released by the Center for China and Globalization (CCG) at a summit on the internationalization of Higher Education jointly hosted by the CCG, World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) and Institute of International Education (IIE) on Wednesday in Beijing.

Experts attend a summit on the internationalization of Higher Education held in Beijing, December 11, 2019. [Photo: CGTN]

The report reveals that despite English-speaking countries attracting scores of international students, others such as China, Russia and the Netherlands are also actively recruiting foreign talent. China now accounts for ten percent of the world's total international students, ranking No. 3 on the global charts in this category.

The Asian giant is trying to attract more by offering various kinds of scholarships and internships. Experts say foreign students will play an important role in China's opening-up in the new era.

Zhou Mansheng, senior fellow at the CCG, said that in recent years, China has attached great importance to cultivating innovative talent to help promote the construction of a strong country in science and technology. China's economic transformation and development require a large number of highly-skilled workers. In the future, those domestic and international students will activate China's economic development potential to a greater extent and promote China's globalization process.

Paul Turner, director of the East Asia branch of Institute for International Education (IIE) , told CGTN this has advantages for both sides. Quite often the international talent can bring skills and ideas not easily found locally.

In 2012, China announced a goal of hosting 500,000 international students at all academic levels by 2020. The government's latest educational plan also rolls out a roadmap for "further opening China's education" through promoting international exchanges and cooperation.