Shocking Shift: Chinese Students Favour Non-US for Study Abroad

With interest in studying abroad rebounding after the pandemic, there are signs that the decades-long run that has sent an estimated 3 million Chinese students to the US, including many of the country’s brightest, could be trending down as geopolitical shifts redefine China-US relations. 

According to China education news, two young women seeking education abroad have opted against the United States, a destination of choice for decades that may be losing its appeal in Shanghai. Helen Dong, a 22-year-old advertising senior, cited cost as her primary concern. She said, “It doesn’t work for me when you have to spend 2 million yuan ($278,000) but find no job upon returning.” Instead, Dong plans to attend school in Hong Kong this fall. 

For Yvonne Wong, 24, a student at the University of Bristol in Britain studying comparative literature and cultures, costs were not a concern. Her issue was safety. She said, “Families in Shanghai usually don’t want to send their daughters to a place where guns are not banned - that was the primary reason.” She further adds, “Between the US and the UK, the UK is safer, and that’s the biggest consideration for my parents.”

Addressing the issue, Fanta Aw, Executive Director of the NAFSA Association of International Educators, based in Washington, said, “International education is a long-term bridge because students who come today are the engineers of the future. They are the politicians of the future; they are the business entrepreneurs of the future.” She also added, “Not seeing that pipeline as strong means that we in the US have to pay attention because China-US relations are very important.” 

Zheng Yi, an Associate Professor of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at Northeastern University in Boston, saw the number of Chinese applicants to one of the school’s engineering programs shrink to single digits, compared with 20 to 30 students before the pandemic. He believes this is due to China’s growing patriotism, which nudges students to attend Chinese institutes instead.

Andrew Chen, CEO of Pittsburgh-based WholeRen Education, said the downward trend is here to stay. “This is not a periodic wave. This is a new era.” The Chinese government has sidelined English education, hyped gun violence in the US, and portrayed the US as a declining power. Due to this Chinese families are hesitant to send their children to the US, as per Chen.

Beijing has criticised the US for its unfriendly policy toward some Chinese students. They cited an executive order by former President Donald Trump to keep out Chinese students who have attended schools with strong links to the Chinese military. 

The number of Chinese students in the US more than tripled to peak at 372,532 in the 2019-2020 academic year, just as the Covid-19 pandemic took hold. The number slipped to 289,526 in 2022. 

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said fewer than one-tenth of 1% of Chinese students have been detained or denied admission. Another State Department official said students from China selected for US-funded exchange programs have been harassed by Chinese state agents. The US-China Education Trust acknowledged the predicament facing students from China. “Students from China have been criticised in the US as potential spies, and in China as too influenced by the West,” the organisation said in a report following a survey of Chinese students in the US between 1991 and 2021.

Still, many young Chinese, especially those whose parents were foreign-educated, are eager to study abroad, highlights the China education news. The China-based education service provider New Oriental said the students hope degrees from reputable foreign universities will improve their career prospects in a tough job market at home. The unemployment rate for those 16 to 24 stood at nearly 15% in December 2023. 

As per the China education news, the State Department issued 86,080 F-1 student visas to Chinese students in the budget year ending in September 2023, up nearly 40% from 2022. Still, the number remains below the pre-pandemic level of 105,775.

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