China now world's biggest source of international students as more Chinese head overseas for broader education
Experts say China's talent pool will improve as overseas universities throw open their doors to mainlanders as source of profit and diversity
China is the world's biggest source of international students, with its growing middle class increasingly sending their children for studies abroad even as the authorities express concern about the influence of Western values on Chinese youth.
A record 460,000 mainlanders studied overseas last year, up 11 per cent from 2013, according to the education ministry.
Dr Wang Huiyao , director of think tank, the Centre for China and Globalisation, said this indicated China was entering a new era in globalisation.
"Consumers are becoming more financially capable, and they now have higher expectations for education," Wang said. "These students aren't just studying in the United States or western Europe, but also in Malaysia, India and Russia, among other countries. This will improve China's talent reserve and its globalisation capacity as it pushes its 'One Belt, One Road' strategy."
Even so, the authorities remain concerned that more of the country's young people will be influenced by Western values.
In a controversial speech earlier this year, Education Minister Yuan Guiren ordered education departments to "firmly keep universities away from textbooks that spread wrong Western ideas".