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Covid pushed foreign students out of China. Will politics, red tape and poor job prospects keep them away?
- International student numbers have yet to bounce back since lifting of pandemic controls, but analysts are optimistic about a recovery
- However, many report dwindling enthusiasm for Chinese universities, citing geopolitical tensions, bureaucracy and employment concerns
Reading Time:7 minutes
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In the past few weeks, China has come up with a series of measures to revive the number of inbound travellers and students to pre-pandemic levels. In the first of a two-part series, Meredith Chen looks at why some overseas students are hesitant to sign up for study in China.
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When China abandoned its Covid-19 restrictions and reopened its borders a year ago, hopes were high that international students would return.
New enrolments were at an all-time high in 2019 just before the pandemic hit but within a year that number had halved.
Some students have since returned and analysts are optimistic the number will climb this year, citing a time lag for fresh enrolments and the gradual restoration of flights, academic programmes and logistics.
But prospective students appear to be cautious. They, along with present and former students in the country, say geopolitical tensions, campus interactions, red tape and gloomy employment prospects have dampened their enthusiasm for studying in the country.
Amy Gadsden, executive director of China initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania, said that with shrinking foreign investment in the country, China experience was no longer valued as much as before.
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