Chinese Students Shift from US to Australia, Britain

01A yearly report on international study shows the number of Chinese students in the United States fell by a small amount last year.

02Meanwhile, a growing number of Chinese students are choosing to go to less costly countries like Britain and Australia.

03Experts say the cost of studying in the U.S., a struggling Chinese economy, and tension between the two countries are reasons for the changing numbers.

04The number of foreign students studying in the U.S.

05during the 2022-23 school year passed one million for the first time since the COVID pandemic.

06That information comes from Open Doors, the yearly report on international study.

07While the U.S.

08saw a 12% increase in foreign students in 2022-23, the number of students from China fell by 0.2% to 289,526.

09China still had more students in the U.S.

10than any other country that year.

11India was the second largest country to send students to the U.S.

12in 2022-23 with 268,923 students.

13That represents an increase of 35% from the previous year.

14In the 2021-22 school year, the number of Chinese students in the U.S.

15fell 9%.

16The COVID pandemic saw Chinese student numbers in the U.S.

17drop in 2020-21 by nearly 15%.

18That number is about the same as the drop in 2020-21.

19Vincent Chen advises Chinese students about studying abroad.

20He is based in Shanghai.

21He said most of the students he advises are still interested in studying in the United States.

22However, he also said there are growing numbers of students applying to study in Britain and Australia.

23If you just want to go abroad, a one-year master's degree in the U.K.

24is much cheaper, Chen said.

25Many people can't afford to study in the U.S.

26So they have to settle for the next best thing.

27Data from the non-profit U.S.

28Group College Board research shows that in the 2023-24 academic year, the average cost for a U.S.

29private college four-year education increased 4% to $41,540 compared with the previous academic year.

30Foreign students, including Chinese students, also study in public U.S.

31universities.

32Those schools are generally less costly than private colleges.

33The British Council said three to four years of undergraduate tuition in Britain costs as little as $15,000 per year.

34The number of Chinese students in Britain was 154,260 in 2022-23, according to the U.K.

35Higher Education Statistics Agency, HESA.

36That is about 22% higher than in 2018-19, when the number was 121,145.

37Australia's Home Affairs Office said in the 2023-24 program year, China was the top foreign country for new students at 43,389, up slightly from the previous year.

38Chen gave two other reasons more Chinese students are choosing to study in Britain and Australia.

39Chinese media's negative image of the United States and concerns about unfair treatment in the U.S.

40Bruce Zhang is a Chinese citizen who received his master's degree in Europe after studying in China.

41He told VOA's Mandarin service that he had such an incident happen to him after he was admitted to a U.S.

42university's Ph.D.

43program.

44When he entered Boston's Logan International Airport last year, Zhang said customs officers questioned him for more than an hour about his research.

45They asked him if it had any connections to the military.

46And he said they took his computer and mobile phone for examination.

47Zhang was permitted to enter the U.S.

48for his studies in materials science.

49Still, the questioning left him so upset that he has told other Chinese to study elsewhere.

50Cui Kai is a study abroad advisor based in the American state of Massachusetts.

51She told VOA Mandarin that experiences like Zhang's, or worse, happen for a reason.

52Cui said those students who are questioned or denied entry have usually come to the U.S.

53for advanced study in an area related to security.

54Former U.S.

55President Donald Trump signed Proclamation 10043 in June 2020.

56That ruling denied visas to any Chinese student who had studied or worked in an organization connected to China's military-civil fusion strategy.

57The U.S.

58says China has been using students and researchers to get important technology.

59Under Proclamation 10043, the U.S.

60took away more than 1,000 visas given to Chinese nationals and has denied thousands more.

61Critics say the policy is costly to the U.S.

62and is making Chinese students look to universities in Europe and other places.

63Critics say the policy is costly to the U.S.

64and is making Chinese students look to the U.S.

65and is making Chinese students look to the U.S.

66and is making Chinese students look to the U.S.

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71and is making Chinese students look to the U.S.