Zhang Yan Lian Zhixian

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, more Chinese studentshave been choosing to study in ASEAN countries

After a lengthy deciding period, Li Fan, a senior student of SouthwestPetroleum University, finally chose toapply to universitiesin Singapore afterlearning that a Chinese student had recently been fatally shot in Chicago.

“My sister studies inSingapore, and she told methat the country is safer andmore friendly, making it morewelcoming to internationalstudents,” said Li Fan. Despitethe Omicron variant wave,many universities in the U.S.and other Western countriesstill require students toattend in-person classes. Incontrast, many universities in Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore offer international students the option to take online classes to guarantee safety, which has been winning over Chinese students seeking to study abroad.

Booming Interest in ASEAN Universities

Increased uncertainties caused by the coronavirus crisis is making many Chinese students rethink where they study abroad. The pandemic puts a strain on the diplomatic relations between China and some Western countries, and a wave of anti-Asian hate incidents in the West has pushed many Chinese students to look to more friendly Asian countries for higher education. Compared to last year, applications to Curtin Singapore increased by 55 percent, while undergraduate applications to University of Malaya grew by 33 percent and postgraduate applications by 130 percent. According to a Quacquarelli Symonds report, more Chinese students are expected to choose to study in Asian countries, with Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines as the most popular destinations.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, international students in ASEAN countries were already increasing. With the promotion of the Belt and Road Initiative and rapid economic development, ASEAN countries were attracting more and more Chinese students with high-quality education, low costs, a friendly environment, and similar cultures. By 2015, the number of China-ASEAN exchange students totaled over 190,000, among which around 120,000 were Chinese students, mostly studying in Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

In 2013, the number of Chinese students studying in Malaysia doubled from 3,800 in 2012 to 7,000. In 2019, around 13,450 Chinese students studied in Malaysia, an increase of 254 percent compared with 2012. Thailand also saw an increase in Chinese students receiving further education in Thailand. According to a Reuters report, 8,455 Chinese students were enrolled into Thai colleges and universities in 2017, a growth of 100 percent compared with 2012.

Last November 5, the 2021 International Education Summit Forum organized by China’s Industrial Bank released its 2021 Report on Chinese Students’ Overseas Studies. According to the report, in the recent three years, the proportion of Chinese students interested in studying in Singapore has increased from 9 percent to 12 percent.

Education quality in ASEAN countries is also undergoing rapid improvement. According to the newly released QS World University Rankings 2022, seven Indonesian universities rank in the top 1,000 worldwide, whereas a decade ago, the figure was zero. Three universities in ASEAN countries are listed in the top 100: National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, and University of Malaya, which rank 11th, 12nd, and 65th respectively.

The relatively low cost of education in ASEAN countries is another factor attracting Chinese students. Statistics show that a Chinese student in Thailand spends two years and US$31,000 on average to get a masters degree, and the cost in Malaysia is only US$24,000 per year, compared to the US$50,000 it costs to study in the U.K. for one year and US$100,000 in the U.S.

“I would have to spend about US$785 a month to rent a small apartment in Hong Kong, but in Malaysia US$314 a month will get you a big house in a community with a swimming pool and a gym,” said Li Yue, a Chinese student studying in the University of Malaya. “The lifestyle in Malaysia is much more affordable and comfortable.”

Waning Interest in U.S. Education

The U.S. is seeing a decline of enrollment of Chinese students compared with the increasing popularity of ASEAN universities. According to the Annual Report on the Development of Chinese Students Studying Abroad (2020-2021)released by the Center for China and Globalization, a Chinese non-governmental think tank, though the total number of Chinese students studying in the U.S. increased over the last 15 years, the growth rate declined from 29.9 percent (2009-2010) to 0.8 percent (2019-2020).

The Open Doors 2021report by the Institute ofInternational Education (IIE)showed that from 2020 to2021, the number of studentsfrom the Chinese mainlandstudying in the U.S. droppedby 14.8 percent to 317,299. U.Senrollment of undergraduatesand postgraduate students fromthe Chinese mainland alsodecreased to 125,616 and 118,859respectively, a year-on-yeardrop of 15.2 percent and 13.3percent respectively.

Statistics from the U.S.Department of State showedthat after the U.S. announcedits visa restrictions in 2017, visaissuance to Chinese studentsdecreased by 24 percent. InJuly 2021, over 500 Chinesestudents seeking doctors ormasters degrees were deniedstudent visas to the U.S. Mostwere majoring in sciences orengineering like computing,chemistry, and biomedicinein universities of science andtechnology.

For much of 2020, the U.S.was the most severely affectedcountry by the COVID-19outbreak. In November 2020,the average number of newconfirmed cases in a single dayin the United States exceeded100,000. As of December 12,2021, the number of deathsrelated to the virus in the U.S.exceeded 800,000. Accordingto Reuters, it took 111 daysfor the number of deaths inthe United States to go from600,000 to 700,000 and only73 days to reach 800,000. Thesevere situation made Chinesestudents reconsider plans to goto the U.S. or switch to anothercountry or region.

While Chinese students inthe United States had felt a lessfriendly atmosphere as China-US relations deteriorated, thesituation became much worseafter the outbreak of COVID-19.Hate Crime Statistics releasedby the Federal Bureau ofInvestigation (FBI) showed that hate crime incidents in 2020increased by 12.9 percent to8,263, a record high over the past 12 years, and that 61.8 percentof the incidents were becauseof the offenders’ bias towardrace, ethnicity or ancestry. Thenumber of anti-Asian incidents reported in 2020 increased by70 percent over 2019.

“I have heard of a couple ofharassment incidents targeting Chinese students,” said Li Fan.“And then the Chicago shootings in November made me decide to look at other countries.” Safetyhas become a common concern for Chinese students seeking to study overseas.

Popularity of U.K. and Hong Kong SAR

In contrast, the UnitedKingdom, another populardestination for internationalstudents, has won the favor ofmore Chinese applicants andsurpassed the United States asthe most popular destinationfor two consecutive years. The2021 Report on Chinese Students’ Overseas Study showed thatfrom 2019 to 2020, a total of148,530 students from theChinese mainland studiedin the U.K., a year-on-yearincrease of 15 percent. Chinesestudents account for 25 percent of international students,and Chinese youth’s interestin studying in the U.K. keepsgrowing.

Statistics on highereducation of the U.K. published by Higher Education StatisticsAgency (HESA) show that fromthe 2015-2016 academic year tothe 2019-2020 academic year,the number of Chinese students studying in the UK rose from90,735 to 141,870, an increase of 56 percent. Interest in pusuingeducation in the U.K. keptrising even after the COVID-19 pandemic.

At present, the U.K. hasbasically resumed in-personteaching. Zhu Liang, a staffmember of Valeon, a Chineseagency for studying overseas,said that schools’ handlingof the pandemic could makea great impact on students’choice of colleges. “Schools that provide both online and offline classes are more popular among students, whereas schoolsrequiring international students to come to school for in-person classes can lose popularity,” Zhu added. Some overseas studentswant to have a sense of studying abroad, while those who donot want to risk coronavirusinfections prefer to have classes online.

Another destination forhigher education is HongKong SAR. While Hong Kongis gaining popularity again,the increase of studentsgoing to Hong Kong is not asstable as the U.K. Hong Kongbegan gaining momentumin attracting students fromChinese mainland in 2011.According to the statisticsfrom EIC Education, a Chinese provider of overseas education services, the total number ofapplicants was around 300 in2011, 500 in 2012, and over 600 in 2013. Although the numberof applicants is rising, theadmission rate decreased year by year from 92 percent to 81percent.

Since 2014, interest instudying in Hong Kong hasshown a gradual decline. The2015-2016 Report on Trends ofStudying in Hong Kong showedthat the number of applications to study in Hong Kongsubmitted through agenciesproviding overseas educationservices has dropped by nearly30 percent compared with theprevious year. Nine out of tenwere postgraduate applications, but the admission rate was only 30 percent. With the gradualimprovement of the socialand economic environment inHong Kong, interest in studying in Hong Kong slowly pickedup until the outbreak of thepandemic.

According to statistics fromthe Hong Kong Committee onSelf-financing Post-secondaryEducation, the total number ofnon-local students studying inHong Kong universities in 2017- 2018, 2018-2019, and 2019-2020 academic years were 37,100,42,500, and 47,900 respectively, a continuous increase. ZhuLiang explained that last year,students were still relativelyoptimistic about the situationafter the COVID-19 pandemic.But a year later, many Chinesestudents gave up the idea ofstudying in other countries and turned to Hong Kong for further education. Consequently, many Hong Kong universities raisedtheir admissions requirements this year. “For schools in HongKong, increased competitionhas made it easier for them tobecome more picky, especiallyafter the outbreak in 2020,” said Zhu Liang. “And this is probably a good thing for them.”