American students lose interest in studying in China
Lack of job opportunities and pollution blamed as number of Americans studying on mainland drops, while Chinese clamour for a US education
Americans are getting cold feet about studying Chinese in China, with many study abroad programmes experiencing a substantial drop in enrolment.
At the University of California Education Abroad Programme (UCEAP), student enrolment in programmes in China is expected to be less than half the level it was four years ago. Washington-based CET, another study abroad group, says interest in China has been falling since 2013.
The apparent waning of interest worries some China watchers. Given the importance of the US-China relationship, having a group of Americans across various industries who speak Chinese and understand the culture is "a matter of national interest", says Robert Daly, director of the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States at the Wilson Centre in Washington.
"We can't respond coherently, effectively and fully to China unless we understand China on its own terms," he said.
The Institute of International Education says the number of US students studying in China fell 3.2 per cent in 2012-13 to 14,413, even as overall study abroad numbers rose modestly.
American students' apparent loss of interest contrasts with Chinese students' clamour for a US education. The number of Chinese studying in the US jumped 16.5 per cent in 2013-14 to more than 274,000.
For US students, China's notorious pollution is a concern. Job opportunities are another. As multinationals in China hire mostly locals, a growing percentage of whom have studied abroad, they have less need for foreigners who speak Chinese.