British scholarship targets future leaders of China

Each year, Britain hands out hundreds of scholarships to the world's future leaders. These Chevening Scholarships have been funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and partner organizations since 1983. They offer funding for full- or part-time courses at the graduate level, normally a one-year Master's degree, in any subject in UK universities.

Chevening Scholars come from 118 countries worldwide (excluding the USA and the EU), and this year the scholarships will support more than 600 individuals.

Of the total numbers worldwide, there were 396 applications across China, and 64 scholarships awarded in 2013, according to the latest statistics from the British Embassy in Beijing. The number of applications reflects a 28 percent increase from 2012.

In the previous years, people such as Xu Shanda, former deputy commissioner of the State Administration of Taxation, and Wang Lili, executive vice president of ICBC, won scholarships.