Center

Foreign students hit record high

By Zhu Zhe (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-06-13 08:44

"With such momentum, China will soon become the biggest education destination country in the Asia and Oceania region."

The students' stay in China is no longer just a cultural experience and has become an important part of their future professional careers, said Cen Jianju, deputy director-general of the ministry's International Exchanges and Co-operation Department.

Sam Gor, a 26-year-old student from Santa Clara, a county near San Francisco, said he was in Beijing to help him find a good job when he returns to the US.

"Culture matters," he said. "But more importantly, to learn Chinese and get a better understanding of the country may help me professionally."

As a new student at Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU), Gor hopes to find a job in Santa Clara's local government when he goes back home in a year. "I need to learn Chinese if I want the job, as we have a large Chinese community there."

Ministry figures show that language courses are still foreign students' favourite, with 86,679 students  or 60 per cent of the total  coming to the country to learn Chinese last year.

But economics, law and medicine are also becoming more popular, "especially after China's entry into the World Trade Organization," said Zhang. She said Chinese schools are trying to adjust their curriculum to cater for students who are not in the country to learn languages.