The China pivot for our students deserves a deeper look
"Seek knowledge even if you have to go to China"—this popular saying is fast becoming a reality for our students. A recent claim by the Chinese ambassador confirms that 20,000 Bangladeshi students are currently studying in China. However, many of the Western datasets do not include this figure. The Unesco website updated in 2024 mentions 52,799 students and offers a top ten list featuring the US (8,524), the UK (6,586), Canada (5,835), Malaysia (5,714), Germany (5,046), Australia (4,987), Japan (2,802), India (2,606), South Korea (1,202) and Saudi Arabia (1,190). ICEF also has a similar list with different ranks and higher figures, claiming the UAE as the number one destination for Bangladeshi students, followed by Malaysia.
China does not appear in any of these lists. Yet, the country has been strategically investing to become a target for higher education, especially for students from the Global South. According to the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, quoted by Chinese-American chemist Peidong Yang, China is the top destination in Asia for international students. In 2018, it accounted for 10 percent of the global market (Handbook on Migration to China, p. 9) and welcomed 492,000 international students. This is far below the 1.1 million students going to the US or 670,000 students going to the UK (Unesco TNE trackers). However, the rise of international students in China tells a lot about the changing educational landscape. This data is further complemented by the number of Chinese universities ranked by the international students.
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During my recent visit to China as a fellow at the Shanghai Institutes of International Studies (SIIS), I experienced the phenomenal growth of the universities. Having studied both in the UK and the US, I could understand why there is a major shift unfolding in our region with the pivot of Bangladeshi students toward the East. I talked to several Bangladeshi expatriate teachers and students to understand what China now offers to Global South learners, notwithstanding our policy imagination that has remained static. My visits, starting from the medical units to the aeronautical and geographic information system (GIS) infrastructures of over five universities, made me aware of how China is leapfrogging into a future where education, technology, and culture blend seamlessly.
At the East China Normal University, I asked officials whether there was a decline in the humanities with so much emphasis presently given to STEM. They were proud to say that 40 percent of their students were in the humanities. Yet this is the same university that has the world's leading tech ventures hosting 1,400 companies—including Intel, Microsoft, and Coke—on its industrial park.
I was told each entity is now required to incorporate AI in its programme as a state policy. At Beihang, Hangzhou, I saw how the university was producing airplanes and satellites. They work closely with many international partners.
I asked Bangladeshi students and faculty members about the pros and cons of studying in China. Despite the added pressure of learning a new language and adopting a new culture, everyone seemed quite upbeat. They all appreciated the welcoming nature of Chinese culture. The respondents I spoke with identified three pull factors. First, China excels in fields such as AI, robotics, renewable energy, pharmacy, traditional medicine, and logistics. These fields align directly with Bangladesh's development needs. Many of the students are attracted to the language programmes, knowing that in the evolving world, this linguistic competency can be a capital for future employability. Second, many of these students have come through the Chinese Government Scholarship (CSC), provincial scholarships, and full university funding, which do not require them to do part-time jobs. These make China one of the most accessible destinations for students from middle-income families who cannot afford Western fees.
Third, the proximity of China, both geographically and culturally, makes it a preferred choice for many. Most campuses now offer halal and vegan food. The weather, the shared collectivist values, and the growing Bangladeshi communities all contribute to a gentler social transition. However, since the trend is very recent, there is no strong alumni output to understand how these degrees are changing the lives of Bangladeshi students.
I realised my own biases were creating a blind spot. This oversight, shared by the country, shows something important: the common belief is that students from developing nations always "look West" for education, but the trend is shifting eastward towards countries like China, Malaysia, and the UAE. The oversight is likely to have policy consequences. Bangladesh's education planners must reconsider where its human resources can and should be directed and what kind of language and cultural training, as well as reintegration pathways, they should incorporate in the curriculum to address this mobility shift.
According to the pilot survey I did for my fellowship, most of the students have completed the HSK test in Chinese language proficiency to study in undergraduate programmes. Most of them are studying computing/AI, the fastest-growing sector in both Bangladesh and China. Most come through university scholarships. Such activity indicates the emergence of a new pipeline of young and skilled, China-educated professionals. For the postgraduate students, the responses were slightly varied: five hoped to stay in China for work or further study; three aspired to move to a third country (often in the West); two planned to return to Bangladesh; and two aimed for entrepreneurship. The pattern can be interpreted not with the traditional lens of brain drain but through the brain gain nexus, which involves a more dynamic exchange of skills, networks, and technologies flowing between countries.
However, this journey is not without barriers. The main challenge faced by our students involves the language issue. Even in English-taught programmes, everyday life demands language skills. Students must use VPN to remain connected to their friends back home, as China insists on its homegrown digital systems (Alipay, WeChat). The other concern that these students shared involved the lack of familiarity of Bangladeshi employers with Chinese degrees. Without systematic recognition of Chinese credentials, returnees may struggle to prove their value. China's work-visa pathway for international graduates, though improving, remains competitive and often uncertain.
For Bangladesh to leverage China-trained talent, it must prepare mechanisms to absorb, certify, and deploy these returnees into sectors that need them most, including AI, renewable energy, pharmaceuticals, supply chain, and public health. Bangladeshi universities should also do curriculum mapping to understand the merit of Chinese degrees, especially in STEM and health sciences. The University Grants Commission (UGC) can create structured reintegration pathways and degree equivalency tools. Building institutional partnerships (dual degrees, credit transfers, and co-supervised PhDs) can enhance the South-South cooperation needed for our ranking efforts, while Bangladesh-China alumni forums can coordinate policy, mobility, and research collaboration.
Dr Shamsad Mortuza is professor of English at Dhaka University.
Views expressed in this article are the author's own.
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