The number of foreign students in China reached a record high of more than 260,000 last year, led by South Koreans and Americans, the Ministry of Education said. A total of 265,090 students from 194 countries enrolled in China in 2010, according to statistics carried by the official China Daily on Friday.
That marked a jump of 8 percent from the 240,000 students in 2009. South Korea sent the largest number of students, followed by the United States, Japan, Thailand and Vietnam, respectively. The paper gave no exact breakdown of numbers. Rounding out the top 10 countries sending students to China are Russia, Indonesia, India, Kazakhstan and Pakistan.
China's goal is to have 500,000 foreign students by 2020, the ministry said. Last year, the government awarded some 800 million yuan ($121.7 million) in scholarships to foreign students, while provincial governments gave 110 million yuan ($16 million), according to the ministry. A total of 22,400 students were recipients of scholarship money.
The vast majority of foreign students came from Asian countries though the number of students from Western nations has increased too, statistics showed. The United States and China have pledged to work together to bring 100,000 Americans to study in China over the next four years.
Meanwhile, Chinese students also are increasingly choosing to study abroad, with the number reaching 284,700 last year, the ministry said. China is also spreading its language and culture through its nearly 300 overseas Confucius Institutes. The government-funded learning centers were set up in 88 countries by the end of 2009.
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