Overseas colleges fight for Chinese students

Competition between international universities is heating up, as China grows as one of the largest exporters of students aiming to study abroad.

"Lots of universities are becoming more and more aggressive to attract Chinese students. Every day I receive contacts from universities in the US expressing the desire to come to China to recruit students," said Frank Joseph, a commercial officer from embassy of the United States.

One key reason why more Chinese students are able to study abroad is the economy: With China's boom within the past decade, more families have the financial wherewithal to send their children to international universities.

There will be a total of 200,000 family-funded Chinese students studying overseas in 2009, up 20 percent from last year, said Wu Zaofeng, deputy secretary general of China Education Association for International Exchange.

International institutions, Joseph said, are also facing an increasingly tough financial situation with a shortage of domestic students and a drop in government subsidies.

Students, especially in the US are paying high tuition fees and living expenses. Chinese students with money to spend, according to experts, can fill up the gap.

Students on average spend 150,000 yuan ($22,000) to 200,000 yuan every year studying in US, according to statistics from the US Institute of International Education. During 2007-2008, there were approximately 81,000 Chinese students studying in the US, up 19.8 percent from 2006.

The increase in Chinese students with their sights abroad and the heightened interest from overseas institutions converge for the 2009 China Education Expo on weekends.

Representatives from approximately 60 universities from the United States are slated to arrive in Beijing this weekend to attract more Chinese students at this year's fair.

Joseph joked that Jon Huntsman, the US ambassador to China, would be very happy to know that students who attend the fair will apply to the University of Utah.

Huntsman was the state's governor before taking the job as ambassador.

Besides the US, many other countries are also vying to enroll Chinese students.

Post-study work visa put out by British government allows all international students completing a UK degree qualification to apply for a visa to stay on and look for work in the UK for up to 2 years.

Being the third most popular destination for international students next to the US and the UK, France has set up two types of scholarships and has handed out an increase of 26 percent in scholarship funds to Chinese students in recent years.