With 460,000 Chinese studying abroad in 2014, China has become the biggest source of international students in the world.

South China Morning Post reported, citing the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, that the number is up by 11 percent year over year although this new statistic has gotten mixed response from education experts in China.

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Experts, interviewed by the publication from the Centre for China and Globalisation, said the increase in Chinese students studying abroad is good for the country's globalization, while a researcher from the National Institute of Education Sciences thinks otherwise.

Centre for China and Globalisation Director Wang Huiyao said the think tank expects the trend to cause an improvement in the nation's talent pool and capacity for globalization. Wang also attributed the increase to the higher expectations of Chinese parents on education, as they become more financially capable.

On a different note, National Institute of Education Sciences' Chu Zhaohui, who commented that other countries welcome Chinese students because they add to their school's cultural diversity, believe that if more Chinese opt to find education and earn degrees abroad, the universities in the country will have a difficult time finding a base for better education.

"Our own universities should improve their teaching and research so that they can be more attractive," Chu noted.

SCMP reported that the University of San Francisco recently announced an easing in the list of qualifications for mainland high school graduates who want to study at the prestigious university.

In other news, the education ministry announced March 20 that in 2014, there were over 377,054 students from 203 countries who arrived in the mainland, which is a 5.77 percent growth from 2013. The ministry also recently said that China is becoming a popular destination for Australians who want to study abroad.

First Secretary of the Australian Embassy to China Christopher Lawson even said that they expect China to become the most popular destination for Australian students, overtaking the U.S. by 2016 or 2017.

TagsChina education, statistics, Ministry of Environmental Protection, foreign affairs, students, education