Season 1, Ep. 5: Why has China become an international student hub?

Below, you will find links to all of the research referenced by our guests, as well as other resources you may find useful.

Donate or get involved!

China International Student Union (external link) , Twitter.

Media

‘China gears up for return of international students (external link) ’, by Mimi Leung, University World News (24 August 2022).

‘Coronavirus forces foreign students in China to choose: Stay or go (external link) ’, by Alexandra Stevenson, The New York Times (12 February 2020).

‘The discourse of international student mobility between China and Africa (external link) ’, by Benjamin Mulvey, Youtube (16 February 2021).

‘The end of China’s non-intervention policy in Africa’ (external link) , with guest Obert Hodzi on the China in Africa Podcast (28 October 2018).

‘Increasing number of Africans preferring to study in China (external link) ’, by Zou Shuo, China Daily (10 November 2021).

‘Meet the Author - Interview with Ben Mulvey’ (external link) , on Podcasts by Network for Research into Chinese Education Mobilities (May 2020).

‘What is China’s Belt and Road Initiative? (external link) ’, by Lily Kuo and Niko Kommenda, The Guardian (30 July 2018).

‘What is FOCAC? Three historic stages in the China-Africa relationship’ (external link) , by Shirley Ze Yu, London School of Economics (3 February 2022).

Research projects & policy

‘ (PDF file) China's Belt and Road Initiative in the Global Trade, Investment and Finance Landscape’ (external link) , OECD (2018).

‘Forum on China Africa Cooperation’ (external link) , Website.

‘Project 9: Mapping supranational higher education space (external link) ’, The Centre for Global Higher Education (CGHE) funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, with support from Research England (2020-2023).

Books

Dervin, F., Du, X., & Härkönen, A. (Eds.). (2018). ‘International students in China: Education, student life and intercultural encounters (external link) ’. Springer.

Hodzi, O. (2019). ‘The end of China's non-intervention policy in Africa’ (external link) . Palgrave Macmillan.

Tian, M., Dervin, F., & Lu, G. (Eds.). (2020). ‘Academic experiences of international students in Chinese higher education (external link) ’. Routledge.

Academic works

Amoah, P. A., Hodzi, O., & Castillo, R. (2020). ‘Africans in China and Chinese in Africa: inequalities, social identities, and wellbeing (external link) ’. Asian Ethnicity.

Hodzi, O. (2020). ‘Bridging the asymmetries? African students’ mobility to China (external link) ’. Asian Ethnicity.

Mulvey, B. (2021). ‘Conceptualizing the discourse of student mobility between “periphery” and “semi-periphery (external link) ”: The case of Africa and China’. Higher Education.

Mulvey, B. (2021). ‘“Decentring” international student mobility: The case of African student migrants in China’ (external link) . Population, Space and Place.

Mulvey, B. (2020). ‘International higher education and public diplomacy: A case study of Ugandan graduates from Chinese universities (external link) ’. Higher Education Policy.

Mulvey, B., & Lo, W. Y. W. (2021). ‘Learning to ‘tell China's story well’: The constructions of international students in Chinese higher education policy (external link) ’. Globalisation, Societies and Education.

Magdalena Perzyna

Welcome to Borders & Belonging, a podcast that explores issues in global migration, and aims to debunk myths about migration, based on current research. This series is produced by CERC Migration and openDemocracy. I'm Maggie Perzyna, a researcher with the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration program at Toronto Metropolitan University. Today's episode is about a new trend in international education. For years, many students from China sought to further their studies in countries like the US or the UK, but in the past decade or so, China has itself become a hub for international students. In this episode, two leading researchers will shed light on this phenomenon, and help us understand how and why China has become such a popular destination for students globally. But first, we'll speak to someone who has, herself, studied in China.

Being the new kid at school is hard. But being the new kid at school in a new country is just a little more challenging.

Aya

I was introduced into the classroom by my teacher. And everybody was like, shushing and like whispering and they were pointing at me [laughing], and, you know, it's like cool… [uneasy]!

Magdalena Perzyna

That's Aya. I will just be using her first name out of respect for her privacy. In 2012, she and her family fled the war in Syria and sought refuge in China. Aya was only 13 years old and like most kids, she just wanted to fit in. While the teachers at her public school went out of their way to help her feel welcome, Aya still found it challenging to settle into her new environment

Aya

It did hurt a bit when I didn't know any of the things the other kids were talking about or playing. And for me, the double struggle was that my parents were very proud of their own heritage. They didn't really want us to assimilate to Chinese culture either and while as a kid, all you want to do is to be a part of something, to be like the other kids. So that was definitely very hard. And that struggle would only be intensified by the years.

Magdalena Perzyna

Aya only spoke Arabic when she arrived in China. So, she worked diligently to become fluent in Mandarin. But she soon came to learn that even that wasn't enough.

Aya

There is an expectation that all foreigners speak English very well. So, if you are from a non-English speaking country and you don't speak English very well, that's very hard for you, because it's like, how do I communicate with the public? And that's actually one of the pressures that I faced because I didn't speak any English when I moved to China. And that's also why I put in a lot of work and taught myself English.

Magdalena Perzyna

The circumstances that led Aya to study in China are not typical of most international students in the country. But after studying with other newcomers in high school, Aya realized that she wasn't alone in a lot of her experiences. For one, she and the other international students found that academic expectations were much more intense in China, than they are in most parts of the world.

Aya

The schools will have mandatory evening self-study sessions, where teachers will give out extra assignments or tests for students to complete within that timeframe. Those usually end around 8 or 9pm. And if you're a specialized arts student, then on top of all of that you will have your sketching or art sessions until 11pm. Now that, you know, now you think that a student would just go home and sleep after all this, but they'd still have additional homework to complete on top of that. That's why most students are left with no choice but to stay up late at night.

Magdalena Perzyna

Aya was grateful to be able to commiserate about this, and about identity with her fellow international students.

Aya

You know, I found a home with these people. These people became family to me, and they still are family to me, because we supported each other, in you know, a foreign country and we listened to each other.

Magdalena Perzyna

And while Aya will perhaps never feel completely at home in China, there's no denying that having studied there will forever be a part of who she is and contribute to the new identity she is building in her new home.

Aya

I identify as Syrian, I identify as Chinese, I identify as Canadian now that I'm here because I've, I'm living here now, and this is where I'm trying to build a home for myself. So, of course, I will, you know, try my best to be a part of this place. And I think that will forever be the case wherever you go.

Magdalena Perzyna

Aya moved to Canada in 2021 to study at Toronto Metropolitan University. She is now in her second year of a Bachelor's in Sociology. Many thanks to her for sharing her story. Now we're going to look a little closer at China's growth as an international student hub. Joining me is Dr. Obert Hodzi, an international relations scholar focusing on international politics at the University of Liverpool, and Dr. Ben Mulvey, a lecturer in politics at the University of Glasgow. Thank you both for being here! Western countries often see China as a market to draw international students from, but now the country is becoming a hub for international students. Where is China attracting students from? Obert, let's start with you.

Dr. Obert Hodzi

China is getting most of its students from Asian countries, neighboring countries, countries like India, for instance, countries like Pakistan, countries like Vietnam. Those are countries where the majority of international students studying in China are coming from. But over the past maybe 4 or 5 years, or even more, more African students have been looking at China as a studying destination. So actually, China has overtaken the UK, the US to become the most preferred destination for African students. So, it's mostly from Asian countries. And then secondly, from African students, those are the biggest groups.

Magdalena Perzyna

What are the benefits of studying in China?

Dr. Obert Hodzi

The first benefit is obviously that it's much cheaper to study in China than it is to study in France or to study in the UK or in the US. So that's the first thing, the cost attracts many students, particularly from African countries. The second one is that it seems fairly easier to get the study visa to China than it is to other Western countries, Canada, Australia, the UK. So, it's much, much easier for people to get those visas to study in China. The third thing is that there are scholarships that are provided, the cost of living is much cheaper in China than it is in other countries. And students can study things that they wouldn't otherwise be able to study, let's say in Europe, because of competition for places. Things like engineering, things like pharmacy, or, medicine, for instance. So, students who may not be able to get those places in traditional places like the UK or the US, are beginning to see China as an alternative.

Magdalena Perzyna

And Ben, from your research, what do you see the benefits of studying in China as?

Dr. Ben Mulvey

Yeah, so as Obert said, obviously, the price is really the main one, combined with the fact that there's a wider availability of scholarships. So, although only about 11% of, students are receiving scholarships from the Chinese government, there's also other kinds of partial scholarships, things like that available. Then you have fewer hoops to jump through to get there as well, like Obert mentioned. There's no language test requirements. And the costs associated with that, the visa requirements aren't as stringent. And then also, I think, one thing that perhaps hasn't been mentioned, is it's an opportunity for people who probably wouldn't have the opportunity to study overseas in most other places in more established destinations like the UK, the US, Canada, so it's an opportunity for them to study abroad, and that means an opportunity to sidestep the education system in their home country. So, I think - my research has focused on Africa. So, a lot of countries across the continent have seriously oversubscribed higher education systems. So, it's an opportunity to opt out of that really intense competition for places and universities and universities there. Then one last quick thing is links with China. So, a lot of the countries that send most students, so again, countries across Africa, they tend to have closer bilateral relations with China. And there's lots of foreign direct investment from China, lots of Chinese companies operating in those countries. So, students see it as an opportunity to get skills and competencies that are associated with China in order to maybe go on to work for Chinese companies afterwards.

Magdalena Perzyna

China's investing money in scholarships and infrastructure to draw international students, what is it hoping to gain from this influx of student migrants?

Dr. Obert Hodzi

So, the first thing I guess, is that China wants to be seen as a producer of knowledge, which is something that Western countries have always claimed - that they produce knowledge that is consumed by the rest of the world. And for China as part of its national rejuvenation, trying to see itself as a great power as well, with massive influence abroad, providing scholarships to students is a way of showing that they can produce knowledge that can be consumed by the rest of the world. So, it has that that element. The second one is to have people that understand China. That have a positive image of China, that have a first-hand experience of China. It's pretty much like what other countries have always been doing. Like Germany, for instance, or the US taking people on scholarships, and then hoping that they have a good image. So, it's a way of enhancing its image by providing the scholarships and hoping that when these people go back to their countries, they will speak positively about China. So those are the two main points that I can see. And obviously, the third one is to be seen as a power that can give aid in some way. And there has been a link, or China trying to link scholarships, provision of scholarship, educational opportunities, with development. And that's something that other countries have not been doing. So, what it allows China to do, and countries that are sending students to China, is to some extent, tailor make programs for some students based on the needs that their countries have. So that link between providing education, but education that is tailored to meet the skills gaps, or development gaps that are in sending countries, is something that China is doing, indeed, has done that quite well.

Magdalena Perzyna

In the West students pay four, sometimes five times more than domestic students. How was China's strategy different?

Dr. Obert Hodzi

The reduced cost is obviously a big advantage, is obviously something that they would want. But for China, it's about learning, right? Learning, preparing institutions, to handle international students, which is a big challenge for many of the institutions that are to some extent hosting international foreign students in China. So, I think it's a strategy of entering the market, right? reducing the cost, allow universities to learn as they go, but make it easy for people to start thinking of China as a destination to go to. And I think it is, to some extent, helping universities in China, to be able to understand the needs of international students to be able to cater for those needs, and to see the gaps that they have. And they're doing that in a much more relaxed environment because students are not paying that much. And to some extent, there is some level of understanding that, oh, based on the cost, they were not really expecting what they would get from the UK or from the US. So, I think it's a strategy of entering the market. Perhaps there might be an increase of fees as China becomes popular and more students think they can pay a premium fee. But based on the experiences of some international students, I think the reduced cost is the biggest advantage that China has.

Magdalena Perzyna

Ben, what is the student experience like studying in China?

Dr. Ben Mulvey

According to the students that I've spoken to, obviously there's a huge range of experiences because there's a huge range of students from all over the world. So, China has the largest higher education system in the world. Not all universities are allowed by the government to accept international students, but there's still a really broad range of institutions of highly variable quality. So, in terms of actual academic experiences, it depends hugely on where students are. So, in my experience, the students I've spoken to, if they're at the top universities like Beijing University, Tsinghua, places like that, then obviously, a lot of the time, the experience is good, although still not always. And then kind of the lower down the rankings you go, the worse it tends to be. And one particular problem is that a lot of students, especially on Master’s courses are on English medium of instruction courses. But that causes a lot of problems, because there's a lack of instructors that are fluent enough in English to actually deliver those courses. So that causes a lot of issues for students. And then in terms of student experience, like I said, there's a really broad range of people there with different goals for being in China, as international students. Some aren't actually primarily concerned with studying. So, a lot of the students I've spoken to, especially if you go to places like Guangzhou, that's well known as like a trading hub in China. So more concerned with entrepreneurship, business, importing and exporting goods, things like that, although that's been getting tougher in the past few years. And the Chinese government is making that a little bit more difficult to do. And in terms of social experiences. Again, it's hard to make generalizations, but often quite positive. But one thing that I find in my research is that, because obviously, my research is focused on students from Africa, in China, so racism appears to be a common issue. And it's something that appears to have gotten worse in the pandemic. And the people that I've spoken to tend to say that it's, it's more outside of the university than within it. So, lots of kind of casual racism, and very overt form forms of racism, which kind of mar the experience for a lot of people.

Magdalena Perzyna

Where does China rank in the world as a draw for international students?

Dr. Ben Mulvey

So, I mean, in terms of just raw numbers, the official number that China provides is nearly half a million, which puts it at within the top three countries, I think. But then that figure includes degree students and non-degree students, whereas other countries that don't tend to include non-degree students, students on language courses, things like that. So, if you take those students out, then it would still be in the top 10. So, I think it would be around eighth or ninth position, somewhere between Germany and Japan.

Magdalena Perzyna

Many student migrants studying abroad have a path to residency or citizenship in the host country. Is this the case in China? What happens to students when they've completed their studies?

Dr. Obert Hodzi

I think this, this is one of the biggest challenges with China, that there isn't a clear path. So, for most students transitioning from their student visa to any other kind of visa, it's really, really difficult. And so, it's a place to study. But then after studying, you have to go somewhere else. And that's what most students tend to do. So, there isn't really a clear path. And I think that's the biggest, perhaps, disadvantage for most international students who go to study in China. That even if they love China so much, if they are not able to get a job, the visa process is just not clear enough. There are a lot of hoops that are in place. And sometimes people just don't know the information of what visas are available for them or what they can apply for. And that's coupled to perhaps what Ben mentioned, about racism, the tendency to see foreigners in a negative way, particularly if they're Black, and they're African. That makes it even much more difficult for African students or non-White students to be able to get anything else beyond their studies. So, most students tend to go back to their countries if they came on a scholarship, particularly government scholarship, because they usually have a job back in their countries. Or if they're private students, or they don't have a job to go to back in their countries, they think of a third country to go to, or decide to stay in China, by other means and do business or something like that.

Dr. Ben Mulvey

Yeah, so I think that was a really good summary. Just because there's a close relationship between race and nationality in China, obviously. So, your sanguineous citizenship by bloodline is still the primary method for determining citizenship in China. So, it's really difficult for people to stay there long term if they aren't ethnically Chinese. So, the vast majority of people that I've spoken to either go back to their home country or go to a third country for further study or to work. Yeah, there's very few students that are able to actually stay on, as Obert said. Especially to get work in a company - that's really, really difficult for the reasons that he said. So basically, the easiest way for students to stay there is to get on a business visa to start a small business, which is what a lot of people do. But still, it's really difficult. And it's not as common as it is in other major destination countries.

Magdalena Perzyna

Are Chinese students still traveling abroad for education? Is China still a market for Western nations to attract students?

Dr. Obert Hodzi

Yes, they're still traveling abroad for education, but not in the large numbers they were doing before the COVID pandemic. My own institution gets close to 3000 Chinese students. And even though their numbers have been reduced, Chinese students are beginning to come to particularly Western countries to study. I think that's one of the challenges, right, with Chinese education and internationalization of its education. But Chinese students tend to go to the West. And the concentration is largely on the UK, the US, Canada, Australia. And they never really go to the Global South, where the majority of foreign students to China come from. So, China's Chinese students mostly go to Western countries, and the numbers are beginning to pick up. But I guess many other issues are beginning to come into play, particularly in the US, where to some extent, there is a perception that Chinese students in highly sensitive areas of study may not be allowed to study, or it may be made difficult for them. I think that is going to have a challenge. But I don't see it, significantly reducing the number of Chinese students going to the US or coming to the UK to study.

Magdalena Perzyna

With China marketing their own institutions as excellent places for post-secondary education, why do Chinese students still go abroad to study?

Dr. Ben Mulvey

Yeah, so I think again, because it’s such a diverse body of students that it is really hard to give a single answer to this. But just to kind of reel off a few common reasons. So, the obvious one is the symbolic capital in an overseas credential. Students and their parents perceive that an overseas credential from an industrialized Western country is going to be looked upon favorably by employers. But then there's also a few studies coming out at the moment, suggesting that the kind of potency of the overseas credential in the Chinese labor market might be weakening, as China becomes a little bit more insular. And as fewer students are going abroad due to the pandemic, there's some preliminary signs that there's an increase in the value of local credentials, relative to overseas credentials. So, you mentioned China markets its own institutions as high quality, international students want to come here, but students are still aware that the quality might differ. So, they're not that susceptible to the marketing. And then another reason is just pragmatism. So, the labor market at the moment, especially the graduate labor market, is highly competitive. There's a really high number of unemployed graduates, record youth unemployment. So, for a lot of people, especially people who can afford it, it's the means of using your cash to secure a future outside of the competition. So, in the face of that increased competition in China, it's a means of, sidestepping and avoiding all of the unpleasantness associated with that really intense competition, at least for a few years and getting a credential that means you can go in and earn a decent living. And yeah, then for a few students, maybe not as common of a reason, but it's a means to get out of China. I think that was becoming less common. So, the return rate of Chinese students [who] studied abroad back to China, that was getting better. But now, you know, we may see that change as the economic conditions are maybe not as great in China as they were a few years ago.

Magdalena Perzyna

You mentioned China's Belt and Road Initiative, the global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government in 2013 to invest in countries and boost its global status. How does supporting international students through scholarships factor in?

Dr. Ben Mulvey

Countries that have closer bilateral ties, I mean, there's not been any studies on this as such, but it appears, it's clear when you look at the countries that students come from. So, countries that have close bilateral ties with China seem to get a lot of scholarships. And for example, not just the Belt and Road, but other places that are of geopolitical significance for China, like Africa. Also, in the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, which happens every three years, China normally pledges, a lot of scholarships to students from African countries to go and study in China, although in the most recent Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in 2021, there was no mention of a specific number of scholarships that were pledged. And that's the first time that's ever happened at the Forum on China Africa, Cooperation. So maybe that's a sign that things are changing. Maybe China won't be pushing higher education as a means of public diplomacy along the Belt and Road and for other areas of importance.

Dr. Obert Hodzi

Yeah, I think the COVID situation really affected a lot more, linking to what Ben was saying. That there wasn't really a clear mention of how many scholarships they are going to provide or an emphasis on scholarships. And I think it was part too because China wasn't really willing to take in foreign students during the COVID pandemic, and it's beginning to open up now. So yeah, those are issues that I think still remain. But linking also with Belt and Road initiative, it's kind of like a political way of dealing with these issues, where countries sometimes retrospectively will link projects and issues and things, initiatives that we're doing with China, as BRI (Belt and Road Initiative) so that they enhance the benefits that they get. And then China is also talking about some students and linking them to BRI. For instance, there were statistics published in China Daily, that said, well BRI-connected countries are sending students - students from BRI-connected countries constitute 54.1% of international students in China. This is to some extent a way of trying to kill two birds with one stone. On one hand, showing that BRI is actually being successful. And on the other saying, our education is very popular for all these countries, and look 54% of international students are coming from BRI countries. So retrospectively applying BRI to large numbers of students that were already coming to China, even before BRI.

Magdalena Perzyna

Do you see China's role as an international student hub changing in the future?

Dr. Obert Hodzi

I think there have been significant challenges, particularly with the way that the Chinese government handled COVID and international students. For the past two years or so, or even three, students have not been able to continue with their studies. Or if they have been continuing with their studies, there have been many difficulties and there wasn't really any clarity on when they will go back, when they will start studies. Whereas in other countries, they opened up and students were able to go back into study. I was particularly drawn to a campaign on Twitter, which was #takeusbacktoChina, and some student associations, international students’ associations in China, compiling videos of international students complaining about how China handled them. And the fact that even where they were offering online courses, there were technical difficulties. The issues about time differences, the issues about just uncertainty, “when are we going back”? “When are we able to finish your studies”? “What's going to happen to the scholarships”? And things like that. These are things that were not clearly handled in a way that would foster confidence in people who want to study in China. So, someone wrote and said, "Well, this was the worst decision I ever made. Europe is much better". Right? So, I think these are challenges that China has to deal with now, to restore the confidence that people had in the education system in China, in choosing China to be a destination for education. It's a lot of work that they really need to do to convince people that if there is another pandemic, they'll handle things differently.

Magdalena Perzyna

Do you see China's role as an international student hub changing in the future?

Dr. Ben Mulvey

Yeah, so I think it's obviously, it's really dependent on what happens in the next few months. So, the Chinese government announced in late August, that they would begin to issue visas again, to allow students to enter the country. Obert gave a really good summary of the situation, the #takemebacktoChina, the current crop of students, they've kind of really angered them, and lost the trust of those students. So, it's difficult to say how much that will affect things in the future. And it's all dependent on how much China opens up. And I think, even if students are allowed in this year, it really depends on whether China can fully open up. And when that happens. There's also things like health codes, on your phone in China that are really difficult for foreigners. People without Chinese IDs to use. So that's another additional level which just makes life in China really difficult. So, there's lots of things that China will have to deal with that will shape the lives of international students over the next few years. Then, another issue was during the pandemic, foreigners were kind of scapegoated in the media in China, for COVID. And there was never any real acknowledgement of that. So, when that's happened to international students in other places, like for example, in Australia, there was this series of attacks on Indian students. And there was a government response. And the Australian Government recognized that, apologized for it, and tried to introduce reforms to make sure that didn't happen again. So, no sign of that happening in China in response to these issues that occurred during the pandemic. So, I think it's also dependent on whether we see anything, any progress with that as well.

Magdalena Perzyna

Any final thoughts that you want to finish with Obert?

Dr. Obert Hodzi

I think China has done a great job, I think in being an alternative source of education for families that perhaps wouldn't be able to send their kids to traditional destinations. But I guess there are a lot of lessons that have to be learned, both by people who are going to China to study, the Chinese universities, hosting international students, and the Chinese government as well. And this pandemic really, perhaps can be a learning point for them to really see how they handled foreign students, particularly students from Africa. I think, they faced a lot of racism, they faced a lot of discrimination. But I think, yeah, who can tell the future? We'll see how things go and how the Chinese government handles this whole issue. And perhaps one of the things that puzzled me was that, as those announcements are being made, that Ben was talking about [reopening borders for international students], Chinese embassies, were saying, congratulations to Indian students, now you can come back, congratulations to Cuban students you can come back. But for me, I think it's the lack of acknowledgement of the hardship that these students who have come through. The issues that were not adequately addressed. And now it's congratulations, you can come back, right? I think it's handling those issues, which I think is a big challenge. And something that may have an effect on how people perceive China as a destination for education.

Dr. Ben Mulvey

I'd like to pick up on what Obert mentioned. One thing that I think is a positive of the kind of expansion of the Chinese international education is the diversity of the student body there. So, lots of students that wouldn't have otherwise been able to study abroad. So that's a really good thing. So, I think one thing to look at in the future is, as there's kind of an economic downturn in China, but also in the rest of the world, can or will the Chinese government choose to maintain the level of scholarship support that they have been providing for the past decade or so, or will that drop off a bit as the economic situation becomes worse in China? There's less public money to be spent. And I think another point is that there's so much that we don't know about international students in China. One thing that we really don't know is what the students go on to do after they graduate. Are they able to go back home and use the degrees that they've got, how employable are they? Things like that. I think there's still a lot that we don't know. So, it's a really interesting area for future research as well.

Magdalena Perzyna

Thanks to Dr. Obert Hodzi and Dr. Ben Mulvey, for joining me today. And thank you for listening. This is a CERC Migration and openDemocracy podcast produced in collaboration with Lead Podcasting. If you enjoyed the episode, subscribe to Borders & Belonging on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. For more information on China's position as a global hub for international students, please visit the show notes. I'm Maggie Perzyna. Thanks for listening!