West taking big risk
Over the last few years the strength of China has manifested itself in many different forms, aside from being the world's second-largest economy, most notable the fact that its population accounts for just under a fifth of the total pollution of the world. Interestingly enough, the Chinese make up the majority international students around the world with over 600,000 of its brightest minds educated abroad every year.
Nevertheless, there is a high risk that this progress might be impeded by the current climate of political tensions between the West and China, which have been amplified by the Covid-19 uncertainty.
Last year US universities woke up to the grim reality of a sharp decline in enrollment by Chinese international students caused by the trade war between Washington and Beijing, ultimately leading to harsher immigration policies.
A report by the Association of International Educators titled "Losing Talent: An Economic and Foreign Policy Risk America Can't Ignore" confirms this fact, as its "data show that international students and scholars feel less safe and less welcome in the US than the previous year surveyed."
The report adds: "University and industry leaders acknowledge that anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies contribute to a chilling effect on international study in the US."
Because of Donald Trump's concerns related to allegations of intellectual-property theft made toward Chinese students, in May the US president issued an executive order suspending their entry to the country.
"The People's Republic of China (PRC) is engaged in a wideranging and heavily resourced campaign to acquire sensitive United States technologies and intellectual property, in part to bolster the modernization and capability of its military, the People's Liberation Army (PLA)," the order stated.
Those students are "detrimental to the interests of the United States," it said, and "their entry should be subject to certain restrictions, limitations, and exceptions." The order includes holders of F and J visas but does not include undergraduate students or greencard holders.
Understandably, this series of unfortunate events led many
Chinese students to choose other foreign study destinations that offer easier career and immigration pathways, such as the UK, or rethink moving from their home country at all.
In the case of Britain, a recent survey published by one of China's top educational firms, New Oriental Education, for the annual report on Chinese Students' Overseas Study shows that 42% of its participants favored the UK as a study destination, whereas the US was the preferred choice for only 37%, a 6-percentage-point decrease from last year. The survey collected 6,673 samples in 34 provinces in China.
Also, the strong incentive for the Chinese students willing to pursue their education abroad is the UK's re-established work visa policy which allows international students to stay in the country for two years after graduation.
The policy seems to be very pragmatic and sensible, bearing in mind that China now sends more students than any other country, inside or outside the European Union, to the UK.
According to the latest findings of the "Higher Education Student Statistics: UK, 2018/19" bulletin, "China sent more students to the UK than any other overseas country. In 2018/19, 35% of all non-EU students were from China. The number of students from China was also 34% higher in 2018/19 than in 2014/15, increasing from 89,540 to 120,385 in the five-year span."
As The Guardian recently reported, the very impressive number of Chinese students is an important source of income for universities because international students pay fees two to three times as high as UK students, as well as significant factor in the expansion of Britain's most prestigious universities.
But can these impressive prospects be taken for granted? Sadly, the answer is no.
According to a survey by the British Council carried out between March 27 and April 3, 60% of Chinese students who have already applied to study in the UK next year were either likely to cancel their plans or have yet to decide, and about 40% of those already studying outside China were either unlikely to return or might still decide not to travel back for their studies in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Asked about their concerns over applying to the UK, 79% said that they were very concerned about health and well-being; 87% were very concerned about personal safety and 86% were concerned about finances.