CHINA
22 March 2014
China's international students
China and other Asian countries lead the world in sending their youth overseas to study. But too many do not return home. Some democracy and freedom would help China here.
China and other Asian countries lead the world in sending their youth overseas to study. But too many do not return home. Some democracy and freedom would help China here.
Chinese students are by far the biggest group of these Asia students at 450,000, up from 291,000 in 2004. This was followed by India and Korea, with 180,000 and 119,000 respectively. The next ranking countries were Germany and France, with 180,000 and 119,000 students respectively.
Japan is one country bucking this trend, reflecting its increasingly inward-looking posture. In 2009, Japan had 43,000 international students, down from 57,000 in 2004.
International students tend to prefer English-speaking countries. The US, UK and Australia together host 56% of all international students. Canada, which in some ways is being bypassed by the Asian Century, is a much less popular destination, despite its excellent universities and large population of Asian Canadians.
Today, many developed country governments, international organizations and university scholarships continue to finance the study of Chinese and other Asian students. For example, in 2009 there were more than 10,000 international students in Japan benefiting from Japanese government scholarships.
Indeed, in light of the growing importance of China and other Asian countries in the world economy, and the academic excellence of many of their students, universities compete to secure the best Asian students.
Politics has often played a factor in pushing students overseas. For example, the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident provoked a massive brain drain. Australia's Prime Minister responded by allowing 42,000 Chinese students to stay in Australia.
Families from Asia's elites and emerging middle classes, who want the best possible education for their children, are another important driver. They send their children overseas to study in the world's leading universities, in the knowledge that a career in a multinational enterprise or an international organization will be facilitated by international studies.
And the growing number of Asian middle class families who wish to migrate to developed countries, also see international education as a way to get a foot in the door of a new country. This is encouraged by host countries like the US, Australia and Canada which are actively seeking skilled migrants who integrate easily into their economies and societies, and which also allow the immigration of family members. One-third of international students in Canada and Australia have stayed on as migrants.
A big driver of the internationalization of higher education has also been the desire of Western institutions to generate additional revenues. This has been largely provoked by cuts to their budgets by national and state governments.
It should be stressed that going abroad to study is only one form of international education. An increasing number of students are taking a degree or other post-secondary courses offered by a foreign university either via distance/e-learning or through a branch established in their country. And while most attention focuses on the internationalization of university education, students go abroad for many reasons, like learning English as a second language, technical and vocational training, and even high school.
There has been an increase in return migration in the last couple of years, attracted by business opportunities in China, rather than any desire to participate in political change. But the "stock" of Chinese migrants overseas remains very large, and the longer migrants have been away, the less is the likelihood that they might return. Overseas family obligations and professional affiliations are not easily set aside.
Moreover, this student migration has been facilitated by the fact that the countries most active in recruiting foreign students, are also active in seeking to attract skilled migrants. In 2009, China's 450,000 international students were concentrated in the US (124,000), Japan (79,000), Australia (70,000) and the UK (47,000). Except for Japan, all of these countries are "open-for-migration" countries.
For many years, China's government organizations led the effort to bring about a "reverse brain drain". In 2002-2003, the Organization Department of the Chinese Communist Party expanded its portfolio from "managing cadres" to managing "talent”. Yet, these early efforts did not “bring back the best.”
Since 2008, largely under the leadership of Li Yuanchao, director of the Chinese Communist Party's Organization Department, and through a new "1000 Talents Plan", the CCP has become far more active in mobilizing units in China and abroad to bring back China's best. China's aim, according to Li, is to make China an innovative nation. While these efforts have met with some success (reaching numerical targets), the program has met with difficulties attracting the very talented.
For Chinese who received US PhDs in the sciences and engineering fields in 2002, 92% still remained in the United States five years after graduation, much higher than other countries' staying rates, with India at 81%, Canada at 55%, Taiwan at 43%, South Korea at 41%, Japan at 33%, Mexico at 32% and Thailand at 7%. These Chinese Phd graduates tend to opt for short-term stays in China rather than make a full commitment to moving back.
Attracting any graduates back to China, especially the very best and very brightest, is a great challenge. They have numerous options and are likely to opt for an environment that allows for free thinking, debating and writing, which will remain greatly compromised in China without significant political liberalization (democracies like Korea, Taiwan and India have experienced a much higher return rate).
There are also many other factors factors which discourage Chinese graduates from returning home like low salaries, poor research facilities and difficulties changing jobs. And then there are cultural factors like resentment and jealousies from local graduates, the complex nature of interpersonal ties in the workplace, the power superiors had over their lives, family complications like children's eduaction, and "gender attitudes". Women are more likely to stay abroad than men.
All that said, there are many ways that the Chinese high-skilled diaspora can help the mainland from abroad, such as: teaching, lecturing, organizing seminars or engaging in collaborative research; by investing and doing business in China; helping Chinese companies when they invest abroad; defending Chinese interests in public debates; and even participating in the increasingly ethnic-oriented political processes in the US.
Further, in November 2009, President Barack Obama announced his goal of seeing 100,000 Americans study in China over four years, as a major investment in the future of U.S.-China relations.
Executive Director
Asian Century Institute
www.asiancenturyinstitute.com
What are the main trends in international education?
More and more students are now travelling to other countries, especially the advanced OECD countries, for their education. In 2009, there were nearly 2.5 million international students in the OECD area. And some 40% of these students came from Asia, while more than 30% came from OECD countries (like a German student going to France).Chinese students are by far the biggest group of these Asia students at 450,000, up from 291,000 in 2004. This was followed by India and Korea, with 180,000 and 119,000 respectively. The next ranking countries were Germany and France, with 180,000 and 119,000 students respectively.
Japan is one country bucking this trend, reflecting its increasingly inward-looking posture. In 2009, Japan had 43,000 international students, down from 57,000 in 2004.
International students tend to prefer English-speaking countries. The US, UK and Australia together host 56% of all international students. Canada, which in some ways is being bypassed by the Asian Century, is a much less popular destination, despite its excellent universities and large population of Asian Canadians.
What is driving the internalization of higher education?
In some cases, government policy has played an important role. In 1978, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched the "study abroad policy", under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping and Fang Yi, with a view to rebuilding China's scientific community after the disaster of the Cultural Revolution. These students were substantially financed by the World Bank and other development agencies, as well as by scholarships offered by Western universities and governments. The departure of students for overseas studies was accelerated by President Jiang Zemin.Today, many developed country governments, international organizations and university scholarships continue to finance the study of Chinese and other Asian students. For example, in 2009 there were more than 10,000 international students in Japan benefiting from Japanese government scholarships.
Indeed, in light of the growing importance of China and other Asian countries in the world economy, and the academic excellence of many of their students, universities compete to secure the best Asian students.
Politics has often played a factor in pushing students overseas. For example, the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident provoked a massive brain drain. Australia's Prime Minister responded by allowing 42,000 Chinese students to stay in Australia.
Families from Asia's elites and emerging middle classes, who want the best possible education for their children, are another important driver. They send their children overseas to study in the world's leading universities, in the knowledge that a career in a multinational enterprise or an international organization will be facilitated by international studies.
And the growing number of Asian middle class families who wish to migrate to developed countries, also see international education as a way to get a foot in the door of a new country. This is encouraged by host countries like the US, Australia and Canada which are actively seeking skilled migrants who integrate easily into their economies and societies, and which also allow the immigration of family members. One-third of international students in Canada and Australia have stayed on as migrants.
A big driver of the internationalization of higher education has also been the desire of Western institutions to generate additional revenues. This has been largely provoked by cuts to their budgets by national and state governments.
It should be stressed that going abroad to study is only one form of international education. An increasing number of students are taking a degree or other post-secondary courses offered by a foreign university either via distance/e-learning or through a branch established in their country. And while most attention focuses on the internationalization of university education, students go abroad for many reasons, like learning English as a second language, technical and vocational training, and even high school.
Why are so many students not returning home?
Many international students have ended up remaining in the country of their studies as immigrants, being attracted by higher salaries, greater opportunities, and cultural and political freedoms. Since 1978 about 1.5 million Chinese students and scholars have gone abroad to study, and only one-third have returned, representing a great brain for China.There has been an increase in return migration in the last couple of years, attracted by business opportunities in China, rather than any desire to participate in political change. But the "stock" of Chinese migrants overseas remains very large, and the longer migrants have been away, the less is the likelihood that they might return. Overseas family obligations and professional affiliations are not easily set aside.
Moreover, this student migration has been facilitated by the fact that the countries most active in recruiting foreign students, are also active in seeking to attract skilled migrants. In 2009, China's 450,000 international students were concentrated in the US (124,000), Japan (79,000), Australia (70,000) and the UK (47,000). Except for Japan, all of these countries are "open-for-migration" countries.
For many years, China's government organizations led the effort to bring about a "reverse brain drain". In 2002-2003, the Organization Department of the Chinese Communist Party expanded its portfolio from "managing cadres" to managing "talent”. Yet, these early efforts did not “bring back the best.”
Since 2008, largely under the leadership of Li Yuanchao, director of the Chinese Communist Party's Organization Department, and through a new "1000 Talents Plan", the CCP has become far more active in mobilizing units in China and abroad to bring back China's best. China's aim, according to Li, is to make China an innovative nation. While these efforts have met with some success (reaching numerical targets), the program has met with difficulties attracting the very talented.
For Chinese who received US PhDs in the sciences and engineering fields in 2002, 92% still remained in the United States five years after graduation, much higher than other countries' staying rates, with India at 81%, Canada at 55%, Taiwan at 43%, South Korea at 41%, Japan at 33%, Mexico at 32% and Thailand at 7%. These Chinese Phd graduates tend to opt for short-term stays in China rather than make a full commitment to moving back.
Attracting any graduates back to China, especially the very best and very brightest, is a great challenge. They have numerous options and are likely to opt for an environment that allows for free thinking, debating and writing, which will remain greatly compromised in China without significant political liberalization (democracies like Korea, Taiwan and India have experienced a much higher return rate).
There are also many other factors factors which discourage Chinese graduates from returning home like low salaries, poor research facilities and difficulties changing jobs. And then there are cultural factors like resentment and jealousies from local graduates, the complex nature of interpersonal ties in the workplace, the power superiors had over their lives, family complications like children's eduaction, and "gender attitudes". Women are more likely to stay abroad than men.
All that said, there are many ways that the Chinese high-skilled diaspora can help the mainland from abroad, such as: teaching, lecturing, organizing seminars or engaging in collaborative research; by investing and doing business in China; helping Chinese companies when they invest abroad; defending Chinese interests in public debates; and even participating in the increasingly ethnic-oriented political processes in the US.
Some other developments
Another development in student migration in Asia is the rise of Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia as “education hubs”, attracting international students. And China itself is also attracting international students interested in learning the language and culture, and preparing for an "Asia-career". In 2010, a total of 265,090 foreign students from 194 countries came to study in China's 620 universities, research institutes and educational institutions. Most of these students are financed by Chinese government scholarships. China plans to build on this by drawing 500,000 foreign students to China by 2020.Further, in November 2009, President Barack Obama announced his goal of seeing 100,000 Americans study in China over four years, as a major investment in the future of U.S.-China relations.
Author
John WestExecutive Director
Asian Century Institute
www.asiancenturyinstitute.com
REFERENCES:
- OECD. Connecting with Emigrants: A Global Profile of Diasporas- Zweig, David and Huiyao Wang. Can China Bring Back the Best? The Communist Party Organizes China's Search for Talent. China Quarterly, 2013.
- Asian Development Bank Institute and OECD. Managing Migration to Support Inclusive and Sustainable Growth. 2013.
- Internationalisation of Higher Education. OECD Policy Brief, August 2004.