Chinese students are increasingly opting for Asian universities. With the right policies, Southeast Asia can continue to reap the benefits.
Chinese students are on the rise in Asian universities. The majority of Chinese students still choose the “big four” study destinations in the West, with US, UK, Canada, and Australia accounting for 62.6 per cent in 2024. However, their numbers have declined over the past five years in American, Australian, and Canadian universities (Figure 1).
Conversely, Asian study destinations are trending upwards for Chinese students. Their enrolment in Malaysia increased fivefold from 9,000 in 2019 to over 47,000 in 2024, and quadrupled in Thailand from just under 6,200 in 2016 to 28,000 in 2024. In Singapore, local media reported that Chinese students constituted about half of its 73,200 international students in 2024. In Japan, Chinese student numbers increased from 103,882 in 2022 to 123,485 in 2024. South Korea recorded a similar pattern: 60,087 in 2022 and 73,500 in 2024.
Figure 1: Number of inbound international students from China, top thirteen destination countries, 2018-2023*
* Data for Japan and Singapore are not available in this database. No data in some years (2019 and 2022 for USA; 2018 for Malaysia; 2018, 2019 and 2021 for Thailand). Nevertheless, the general trend during 2018-2023 is visible.
This shift in Chinese student mobility to Asia can be attributed to four factors: (1) the attractiveness of Asian study destinations to Chinese students; (2) the efforts by governments and universities in developing the higher education sector in these destinations, and in meeting Chinese students’ needs in particular; (3) the expansion and diversification of the Chinese student demographic; and (4) the facilitative effects of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The first and second factors combine to make Asian destination countries a convenient, cost effective, and more comfortable study abroad experience for Chinese students. The third and fourth factors derive from developments in China.
First, Asian countries are becoming attractive to Chinese students as they offer affordable tuition and living, geopolitical stability, safety, and geographical and cultural proximities. Tuition and living costs in Asian countries are a fraction of those in the traditional Anglophone study destination countries. Asian countries are also perceived to be safer, for instance, by being free of gun violence and less prone to Sinophobic sentiments. The presence of Chinese communities in Asian study destinations offers a familiar environment to Chinese students, who can enjoy shared languages and cultural practices while away from home.
Second, governments in Asian destinations have made concerted efforts to attract international students. Some flagship universities in Asia are well-positioned in international university rankings, making these destination countries even more attractive to ranking-conscious Chinese students and parents. These destinations are thus perceived to offer higher cost-effectiveness on Chinese students’ study abroad investments, evoking the Chinese adage gaoxing jiabi (高性价比, meaning an affordable price for a high-quality product). To attract Chinese students and cater to their study interests and needs, some Asian universities, notably in Singapore and Thailand, have rolled out Mandarin, bilingual or trilingual medium courses. Institutions in Singapore, South Korea, and elsewhere offer live application support and tuition fee payments on Chinese digital platforms such as WeChat and WeChat Pay. Some help ease students’ transition into post-study employment.
Third, while studying abroad used to be primarily pursued by Chinese students from wealthier and middle-class urban families in major cities or those with high academic performance, the Chinese student demographic has expanded to include those from southern and border provinces (including rural areas) and those with average academic performance. The expansion and diversification of Chinese student demographics are also due to the intensifying competition for entry into domestic universities in China. Faced with low prospects of gaining entry into reputable domestic universities, some Chinese students are turning to Asian universities where admissions are perceived to be comparatively easier.
Chinese students are increasingly venturing abroad for postgraduate study, as degree holders seek to improve their employability amid rising graduate unemployment and increasingly competitive entry to domestic postgraduate programmes. These challenges are compounded by “credential inflation”, or employers’ predilection to recruit candidates with higher paper qualifications. For mature students, especially current lecturers and researchers in Chinese institutions, a PhD qualification is often a prerequisite for career mobility. Completing their PhD study in Asia is more practical and convenient as they can bypass the competitive postgraduate entrance exams in China, enjoy relative academic freedom, and secure a PhD qualification from a reputable yet affordable university in Asia.
Chinese students should not be solely treated as cash cows, as they can play important facilitative roles as cultural ambassadors and intermediaries between China and Asian study destinations.
Fourth, China’s BRI and good bilateral relations with Asian study destination countries have opened up various study, work, and business opportunities for Chinese students. BRI-related government scholarships have directly enabled Chinese students to pursue higher education in these countries. Cross-border economic activities and bilateral trade with China have indirectly led to demand for bilingual and multilingual human resources to service Chinese and host country enterprises. Chinese students studying in these countries enjoy potential advantages if they gain linguistic, socio-cultural and network capital, along with a deeper understanding of their host countries. The influx of Chinese students can bring positive benefits to Asian destination countries, including income revenue, spill-over effects to other sectors (e.g. real estate, tourism, healthcare), human capital development, and stronger bilateral ties with China. However, attention should also be given to managing public perceptions and discontent in the local population on matters such as immigration, ethnic relations, local employment, and housing demand. Asian universities must also maintain their quality and reputation to remain competitive in the international education market. Chinese students should not be solely treated as cash cows, as they can play important facilitative roles as cultural ambassadors and intermediaries between China and Asian study destinations.
2025/270