Zhang Xinsheng, the Vice Minister of Education, announced on December 21 that the Chinese government will provide 11,000 scholarships to international students in 2007, the most it has offered since new China was founded in 1949. He said that the Chinese government attaches great importance to the work of international students studying in the country. The number of scholarships available has been increased in the spirit of the 5th meeting of the High-Level Group on Education for All held by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in December, 2005, and the Beijing Summit Forum on China-Africa Cooperation held in November, 2006.

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Since the beginning of reform and opening up (to the outside world), the number of international students coming to China has increased rapidly. The beginning of the new century saw the start of a new boom period. In 2005, China accepted more than 140,000 international students from 197 countries.

By People's Daily Online