China: Effort to Attract Foreign Students
A senior Chinese education official says that China plans to have 150,000 foreign students studying for degrees by 2020, according to a report on Wednesday in China Daily, an official English-language newspaper. The central government intends to offer more scholarships and to encourage local governments and schools to do the same, the report said. The plan to attract more foreigners to degree programs is part of the country’s push to increase its soft power, or influence through culture and diplomacy. The official, Hao Ping, vice minister of education, said that the 240,000 foreign students in China last year were a record. About 60 percent of foreign students are studying Chinese, and 13.5 percent are studying medicine.
