（Photo/Chinanews.com)

China has been the leading source of international students in the US for 10 consecutive years, said the 2019 Open Doors Report.

The report, jointly issued by the US Institute of International Education and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State, said that a total of 369,548 Chinese students were in US universities for the 2018-19 academic year for undergraduate and graduate degree or non-degree programs as well as selective practical training programs. The figure indicates a 1.7-percent increase from a year ago.

The numbers of Chinese undergraduate and graduate students in US universities stood at 148,880 and 133,396, respectively. As the largest source of international students in the US, China was followed by India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Canada.

Due to some reasons, Chinese students were having troubles applying for US visas or studying in the country, which triggered wide concern among Chinese overseas students. In response to this, Dr. Alan Goodman, President and CEO of the US Institute of International Education said at a briefing pertaining to the report that the US has always welcomed Chinese students.

He noted that China, as a major country, enjoys substantial intellectual resources, and the US has also significantly benefited from its exchanges with China.

This year marks the 70th year for the US Institute of International Education to release the Open Doors Report. According to the report, though the attraction of US universities for international students were on a downward trend, the number of international students in the country during the 2018-19 academic year still achieved a record high – hitting 1.09 million.

International students contributed $44.7 billion to the US economy last year, up 5.5 percent year-on-year, said the US Department of Commerce. Chinese students alone accounted for 33.3 percent of the figure.