Henry Huiyao Wang: To prosper, China must become a magnet for international students

CCG President says China must seize the opportunity to become a global education hub. Reform of its universities should begin now

Henry Huiyao Wang, founder and President of the Center for China and Globalization (CCG), has just published the following opinion column in the South China Morning Post

Henry Huiyao Wang: To prosper, China must become a magnet for international students

China must seize the opportunity to become a global education hub. Reform of its universities should begin now

Last month, 12.9 million students in China sat for the National Higher Education Entrance Examination, or gaokao, the number sliding for a second year, and down from 13.3 million last year. Given that births have fallen below 8 million annually to a record low, in 18 years, the country’s more than 3,100 universities will find themselves fighting over an even smaller cohort.

This will coincide with a growing global competition for talent. In a knowledge-driven economy, the countries that prosper will increasingly be those capable of attracting researchers, entrepreneurs and skilled workers. Yet demographic trends are changing: declining fertility is no longer confined to the wealthy, ageing societies in Europe and East Asia.

The global fertility rate has fallen from 2.9 births per woman in 1994 to 2.2 in 2024, and more than half of all countries and territories are now below the replacement level of 2.1. Even where fertility remains comparatively high, the direction is unmistakable: around one-third of all countries and territories had fertility rates of four or higher in 1994 but this had dropped to just 13 per cent in 2024.

This transition is reaching countries once regarded as bastions of demographic growth. Take Bangladesh for example. Its fertility rate fell from 6.7 births per woman in 1960 to 2.2 in 2013 and has hovered around the replacement level since. As a region, South Asia’s fertility rate stood at 2.0 in 2024. Even sub-Saharan Africa, the world’s youngest and fastest-growing region, has experienced a sustained decline.

While the world will not suddenly run out of young people, the distribution of talent will become increasingly important. Countries that can educate and offer opportunities to talented individuals will be better positioned to shape the future.

International students will become a critical component of the global talent competition. For decades, the United States and Europe benefited as major destinations for talent. Their universities attracted generations of students who later became researchers, entrepreneurs, skilled professionals and bridges between societies. Students entering the classroom today are not just participants of academic exchange, they are building the talent networks that shape tomorrow’s economy.

Nowhere is the advantage of talent attraction clearer than in America’s leadership in artificial intelligence. Its AI lead has been strengthened not only by domestic innovation but also by its ability to attract researchers from around the world. According to Macropolo’s Global AI Talent Tracker, the United States employs 59 per cent of the world’s elite AI researchers.

To remain competitive, China must become a major destination in this global competition. China has traditionally been a source of international students but with the rapid expansion of its higher education system and role in global innovation, China must seize the opportunity to become a global education hub itself, creating an environment where international students choose China not only as a place to study, but as a place to build their futures.

Even those who simply come for a world-class education and then leave can become a valuable bridge between China and the wider world.

Chinese should begin reform of its tertiary education now. First among these reforms, Chinese universities will need the autonomy and flexibility to attract foreign students. Universities should be encouraged to act on their own to attract students and should also design programmes and develop partnerships that reflect their strengths.

Second, if universities outside China’s most elite institutions are to attract foreign talent, they will need to be able to make final decisions on their tuition, fee structures, financial incentives and student aid. That is not to say that educational institutions should act like profit-focused businesses; they should be granted the flexibility to make changes where they deem fit.

Third, China should focus on more deeply integrating international and local students. The greatest value of an international education lies in being able to interact with people with different backgrounds and experiences. International students should not exist in a parallel system separated from their Chinese peers. Greater opportunities for shared classes, research projects, student organisations and campus life would strengthen mutual understanding and create the networks that define successful universities.

Fourth, we must acknowledge that Chinese is not yet the lingua franca of international education and, in lieu of that, Chinese institutions need a more internationally oriented curriculum, specifically courses offered in multiple languages, as well as hosting more international faculty and returning scholars with overseas experience.

Finally, China should strengthen the connection between education and professional opportunity. For many international students, the decision of where to study depends not just on academic quality but also on whether that education can lead to meaningful career development. China has an opportunity to build a more attractive pathway by providing clearer and more flexible opportunities for internships, employment and entrepreneurship after graduation.

A global talent ecosystem includes those who return home. International graduates, whether those who come only for an education or those who stay on and work in China for decades, have an understanding of China and can maintain connections that act as valuable bridges between China and the wider world as China goes global and pursues outbound investment.

The competition for talent will be a defining feature of the coming decades. China already has a world-class education system and world-class research institutions; let’s not let them go to waste.