Universities seek greater enrollment from abroad(4)

Future tense

Yang said China's desire and need to attract more international students is in line with the country's rising global profile.

"It is in China's interests to host more students from overseas. They will help their own societies understand China better and interact with China more effectively across a range of social areas," he said.

"It's also in the interests of those who interact with China. International students have always been the best way of building intercultural relations and improving a country's influence. China is no exception and this has been proved by its own history and by contemporary practice among major world powers."

There is still a lot for the government to do; most important is educational reform that would benefit both domestic and foreign students, plus reform of the salaries of university teachers and the regulations on international students.

For Rahul Choudaha, director of research &strategic development at World Education Services, a nonprofit organization that specializes in international education and research, greater knowledge of the outside world is key: "China has untapped potential, but to realize grandiose goals, a deeper understanding of international students is required - shooting in the dark is a sure way to miss the goal."