Over 70 percent of foreign students studying in China are from Asian countries, with South Koreans and Japanese making up a large majority. But the numbers of students from Europe and the United States are rising, and they contribute about 10 percent each of the foreign student community. In fact, the number of American students studying in the mainland has increased at a faster rate than any other country, with numbers of university-level students reaching nearly 4,000 for the 2001-2002 academic year - a 33 percent increase from the year before, according to the Institute of International Education in the United States. (In comparison, American enrollment in the U.K., the most popular destination with over 30,000 students, fell by 0.5 percent.)

　　The numbers of Western schools offering competitive study abroad programs in China is quickly increasing. There are already some well-established programs geared at Western students, like the one from Johns Hopkins University in the U.S., which has offered a one-year residential graduate-level program in Nanjing since 1986. Now, more schools are developing programs at a rapid pace. Responding to demand, Stanford University is launching a new joint program with Peking University this fall, with an initial group of about 35 students. "The Beijing campus was opened in response to a strong upsurge in student interest," says Ross Adam Perlin, a student advisor to the program. "More and more students seem to believe that China will be a critical economic and political force in the coming years and that the country's relatively new openness to exchange students is an incredible opportunity."

　　Until recently, the Western universities with study abroad programs in China were those that offered Chinese language majors and sent students to the mainland primarily for language study. Now, even universities that do not offer language programs are looking to build strategic relationships in education with China's colleges.

　　Though the prestigious London School of Economics (LSE) does not offer any language courses, several top university officials have visited China in the past year to explore the possibilities of partnerships with Chinese universities. "The school currently has joint degree and research programs with top U.S. and European institutions," says Brendan Smith, the school's China representative. "Its strategy for the 21st century in China goes well beyond the enrollment of students in LSE programs in London."

　　This growing range of non-language coursework is allowing for more students to come to China without taking a break from their studies. Courses in areas such as law, business, economics, international relations and even media are starting to show up in course catalogues next to the more standard language classes.

　　Sevim Lomas, a former marketing executive from Australia, became convinced a few years ago that the media market in China would soon be booming. She wanted to set up a Beijing-based media company, but lacked a sound knowledge of Chinese broadcasting. So she quit her lucrative job, left Melbourne and became a student at the Beijing Broadcasting Institute, learning - among other things - the impeccable Mandarin accent required by Chinese broadcasters.

　　Lomas may have been the only non-Chinese person in her broadcasting class, but courses in fields like business and economics are attracting quite a few foreigners. Freddie Chung, a 30-year-old Chinese-Australian, was offered a job at the Shanghai office of financial firm Arthur Anderson in 1997. He felt that China had little to offer him and refused. Five years later, Chung changed his mind and enrolled in the MBA program at Tsinghua University. After graduating, he chose to stay in China and now works for the Beijing office of A.T. Kearney, a U.S.-based management consulting firm.

Jasmin Schierding

　　"[I didn't earn an] MBA for technical business skills - I already had an economics degree from Australia and more than seven years of work experience," he says. "This MBA to me was a chance to learn more about Chinese business and culture and to make valuable lifelong friends. I strongly believe that China now has a lot of business and career opportunities and I plan to stay here to develop my career. In fact, I believe networks built in China are even more important in today's world than those built in the U.S. or Europe."