Indian students increasingly make China their education destination

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Figures show China has become the top education destination for Indian students, surpassing the UK and the US, with Chinese language and medicine being the two top majors of choice.

More Indian doctors-to-be studying in China

Statistics by China's Ministry of Education indicate that an increasing number of Indian students are coming to China, with a number of 18,171 in 2016, surpassing for the first time the figure for the United Kingdom.

Eighty percent of Indian students in China follow undergraduate clinical medical courses in various medical institutions, according to the Indian Embassy in Beijing. Low tuition fees, good accommodation, and classes taught in English attract an average of 6,000 Indian students per year to medical courses in China, according to Indian media reports.

"The education fee in China is very competitive compared to the UK and the US, together with the student visa policies. After President [Donald] Trump took office, the student visa policy is much tighter than before. And after Brexit, the [UK does not welcome] international students to join their job markets," said Zhang Xiaoyu from the Communication University of China.

Russia, which used to be among the preferred options for Indian medical students, has witnessed a decline in number in recent years. Zhang said part of the reason is that doctoral graduates from Russia find it difficult to pass the exam to be a medical practitioner by the Medical Council of India (MCI).

Indian students celebrate Holi, also known as Festival of Colors, in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, March 27, 2016. /VCG Photo

Mandarin makes Indian students more competitive

Apart from affordable tuition fees, the language skills Indian students gain while in China are also believed to make them more competitive.

"First of all because of the language, because in India there is much more demand for the Chinese language. The other thing is if I keep in touch with international businesses, I can do both with language and international business major," said Archana Bhatt, a student from Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU).

India and China do not see eye to eye on certain issues – in particular, the two months of border-related tensions last year, the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

But the younger generation does not think of the two countries as competitors.

"The industries are quite specifically divided between India and China. For example, India is good at IT and software-related issues and software-related industries; whereas, China is better at hardware-related industries and manufacturing," said Ullas Ashwani Kinger, another Indian student from BFSU.