How Is China’s Global Education Strategy Evolving?

Samson Mofolo is one of 20 Africans completing a Master's in agriculture at China Agriculture University (CAU) in Beijing. Before arriving in China, he was working for the Ministry of Agriculture in Malawi, which sends several employees to the university every year. “I spent the first six months in Beijing learning theory,” he explained, “but after, I moved to the countryside to live and study alongside local farmers.”

The students, who come from all across the African continent, are enrolled in the three-year Science Technology Backyard (STB) program set up by CAU in 2019. It is one of three agriculture-focused programs in the university that exclusively enroll students from Africa. Although students spend the first few months in Beijing, most of their research is carried out in Quzhou county in rural Hebei, some 400 kilometer from China's capital.

CAU in the Broader Context

The CAU program is representative of a trend that has been emerging since 2013, when the Chinese Communist Party announced its flagship global strategy, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The past 10 years have seen a rapid growth of international students coming to China, particularly from partner regions such as Africa and Southeast Asia. Africa in particular has shown seismic growth, with 80,000 students in China in 2018, increasing by 60 percent in just three years.

Although African students coming to China is not a new phenomenon (the first students arrived from Egypt in the 1950s), the recruitment strategy has changed. Programs are increasingly focusing on students majoring in science or technology. There has been a clear promotion of agriculture-related programs, as well as medicine and energy. This reflects China’s ambitions of developing key industries through high investment in research and innovation.

Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, for instance, has welcomed a growing number of top-performing students from Pakistan, specializing in biotech and chemical engineering. Backed by significant funding and collaborating with local research teams, students are tasked with researching and developing new technologies and agricultural products. Unsurprisingly, these institutions take full ownership of the IP developed, according to Farrukh Amin, a researcher at the institute working on possible applications for organic waste. Amin, who has benefited from over $71,000 worth of funding for his research, is continuing to develop new agricultural technologies, and his success has led to the recruitment of more Pakistani students working in the same field.

Yet turbo-charging scientific research domestically and developing patents in key industries are just two reasons why institutions are focusing on international talent. Many Chinese universities are keen to expand their international presence in order to elevate their reputations both within and beyond China.

The Mission of Chinese Universities to Internationalize

Competition among universities is fierce and there is a scarcity of government resources and funding to fight over. Universities such as CAU, which ranks 484th in the world, struggle to compete with higher-ranked (and higher-profile) rivals. By appearing more internationally-facing, CAU can differentiate itself and build its reputation. At the same time, programs such as these enhance the visibility of Chinese education overseas and this ties in with a broader government imperative.

This strategy has been adopted by institutions across China. Jiangnan University, which ranks 497th globally, recently launched a China-Africa friendship program for Food Science and Engineering. Much like CAU, the initiative has a precise mission: to recruit students from the African continent to study agriculture-related degrees.

The Importance of Africa and the Sciences

Chinese institutions offering international programs are often more inclusive in terms of their regional admission criteria. However, programs tailored to African students are increasingly common. Besides offering scholarships, Chinese institutions are seeking partnerships with universities based in Africa. In 2019 alone, nine universities in Africa signed MOUs with Chinese institutions, including leading national universities, such as University of Namibia, University of Zimbabwe, University of Zambia, and University of Lagos-Nigeria.

The reason behind this is simple. Africa’s importance as a regional partner is rising on the Chinese government’s agenda. In 2015, during the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), China's President Xi Jinping emphasized the need to strengthen partnerships with the region. In his speech, among the most commonly used words were cooperation (30 times), common (11 times), win-win (eight times), and partnership (five times).

This pivot toward Africa is becoming more pronounced. It was reflected in statements by Xi during the BRICS summit in 2023 and announced in a “Plan for China Supporting Africa’s Agricultural Modernization.” Universities have responded to the government’s directives by launching programs that align with Communist Party goals. By doing so, not only do universities curry favor with the government but they are also better placed to tap into much sought after government resources.

Are Perceptions of China’s Education System Changing Overseas?

According to Professor Xiaoqiang Jiao, who is responsible for the STB program, the program “has made CAU more and more famous globally, especially in Africa.”

It is clear that the reputation of Chinese higher education institutions is improving on the global stage. This year, China’s top two universities – Peking University and Tsinghua University – enjoyed a historic moment, taking a seat among the top 20 universities globally. The quality of China’s universities is being recognized, and not just the few at the top. Among students from regions such as Africa and Southeast Asia, China is now seen as a preferred option. For example, China is the top destination for Thai students, hosting over 28,000 in 2018.

And it is not just financial incentives that are driving this shift. The number of self-funded international students has almost doubled in just 10 years, standing at almost 430,000 in 2018, as opposed to the 63,000 students receiving scholarships.

According to data, over 70 percent of students choose China because of the quality of education and staff. Interviews with CAU students reflected this. According to them, China’s competitive research capabilities and funding, as well as their technological advancement, gives China an edge.

Madalitso Chirwa from Malawi expressed his surprise after arriving in China, explaining that “many people are not aware of how China has advanced in terms of education.” He described how China “propelled advancement through research.”

Sylvester Pantani from Malawi explained that at CAU “they focus so much on research,” providing a thorough program with knowledgeable professors. But students were quick to emphasize that the course was not just focused on research but had a strong “practical aspect.” This, according to Sylvester, “brings many benefits when combined with tech advancement.”

Programs such as the STB can improve perceptions of China’s education system among students, who are surprised and impressed by China’s technology, research capacities, and resources. Data released by the Pew Center in 2023 showed that positive perception of China is noticeably high among young Africans, and is continuing to improve. Out of those participating in the survey, 72 percent of Kenyans and 80 percent of Nigerians viewed China favorably, as opposed to 14 percent of Americans and 18 percent of Germans.

Although these recorded perceptions are not grounded entirely in participants' exposure to China’s education system, people- to-people dialogue and student exchanges play a role in shaping public perceptions. That student numbers from Africa are growing while those from Europe and the United States fall contributes to a hardening and intensifying of existing perceptions.

How Meaningful Are These Changes in Perception?

Changing sentiment around the Chinese education system isn’t limited to students who have first-hand experience in China. Often current students at Chinese institutions become ambassadors for their universities, promoting programs to friends and family back home, raising their profiles abroad.

For CAU this is the primary method of student recruitment. Current STB students have promoted the course back home through WhatsApp, or their former workplace. Naziru Ibrahim from Nigeria explained, “We encourage others to apply by sending them the portal for the scholarship, because we think this program enhances the capacity of our young graduates.” For current African students, the program is seen as an advantage not just for them but for their countries’ development.

Sylvester stated, “I will encourage others to come to China and study. It will benefit my country.”

This grassroots level promotion will, overtime, increase awareness levels of Chinese universities overseas. Although the scale is still relatively limited, changes in perception are already noticeable.

Collaboration models between China and Africa are continuing to diversify, and enable Chinese institutions to expand their reach with less financial investment. For instance, the 2+1 program model, in which students split their time between their home countries and China, is increasingly popular. The STB is one such model; students are required to return home in their second year, transferring knowledge back to local farmers. The implementation of this dual-degree model has accelerated since 2019 with high-level exchanges and MOUs signed between universities in Africa and China. With the endorsement of senior stakeholders of major university associations, who in 2022 announced a “China-Africa Consortium of Universities Exchange Mechanism,” this development is likely to intensify.

Buy-in from key stakeholders strengthens these new collaborative models, and increased participation by African institutions makes for a more sustainable pathway as the costs are shared. Moreover, China benefits from the platform and reputation of local universities.

Another recent development is Chinese institutions expanding their physical presence overseas. In the case of CAU, the first international STB was set up in Malawi last year, and three more are expected across Malawi, Zambia, and Nigeria this year. According to the head of the program, Jiao, there are “a large number of students from these countries so they can help establish STBs there.” Students are involved in setting up the new STBs and are expected to be involved in their long-term development.

Other institutions have expanded in Africa, opening up partner research facilities. Nanjing Agriculture University, for instance, whose dean has close ties to Kenya, has established facilities at Egerton University. The Kenya-China Joint Laboratory for Crop Molecular Biology was opened in 2019 and is a hub for research, staff and student exchanges and professional training. By seeing an increasing presence of Chinese facilities and research centers, local Africans will begin to see China as a major global player in education and research.

What Does the Future Hold?

The internationalization of Chinese institutions, particularly in Africa, is a significant development. Yet it is not without its challenges. For CAU, making headway with local actors such as the farming communities and government is slow. Yet, it is vital for their success. Although local governments welcome the funding and educational resources provided by China, they are unable and sometimes unwilling to contribute financially. This places considerable burden on the Chinese institutions and limits the potential growth and impact in the long run of these programs.

Chinese professors are also not always enthusiastic about participating in such international programs. Farrukh Amin spoke of the challenges of persuading Chinese professors to visit Pakistan. He explained that “they are scared of security issues in my country,” and are often “unwilling to go.” This limits how far such partnerships can develop as well as the human resources that China can contribute to overseas education developments.

Still, at this juncture, the future of Chinese universities’ international development, particularly among regional partners, seems bright. In terms of reputation, they are making headway. For Jiao, the “STB has made CAU more and more famous globally, especially in Africa.” The increase in the capacity of programs such as the STB is growing demand. This seems unlikely to change.

For Western institutions, China’s rise as an exporter of education has implications. Its improved reputation and growing research capabilities could challenge the hegemony of Western institutions currently enjoying a glut of international applications. While Western universities will continue to receive applications from students of neighboring countries, in the longer term, Chinese universities may attract more high-skill talent from partner regions such as Africa and Southeast Asia.

For countries like the U.K. whose universities depend on international students to survive, this could raise existential concerns. British institutions hoping to diversify their student body away from Chinese students (who represented over 25 percent of international students at British universities in 2022) by drawing more from Africa and India may face competition from Chinese universities.

China’s willingness to invest in top international researchers and create bespoke programs for partner regions may give China an edge in the race of knowledge and technological supremacy.