An increasing number of Chinese students are choosing to study in Russian universities, the Russian state-owned news agency Sputnik reported on Saturday.
Photo: Agencies
The number of Chinese students who study in Russian universities has doubled in the last five years, according to an official notice jointly issued by China and Russia in early September. The number has doubled several times in the past seven years.
Now around 48,000 Chinese students are studying in Russian universities, and the number is expected to go up in the future.
“Russia is now one of the top choices for Chinese students to study abroad, and Moscow is for sure on top of the list,” Zhao Shu’na, a mechanical engineering student from Moscow State University (MSU), told Sputnik. Zhao said, “Chinese students with diplomas from Russian universities are more competitive in the job market.”
Zhao explained that with the escalating trade exchanges between the two countries, the number of Chinese graduated students in MSU has been rising year by year. A shortage of Chinese-Russian translators has been growing as more cooperation occurs, and the demand has exceeded the supply for quite a time.
“Studying in a Russian university can not only provide us an education of higher quality, but an acceptable tuition fees for most people,” said Liu Jing, an economics student from MSU.
Considering the stable friendship between the two countries, there has been a large demand for graduates with a main field of study and also Russian language skills. “Taking myself for example, I am an economics student. My language skills and economics professional skills will make me more competitive,” Liu said.
Unique majors and concentrations attract many Chinese students. Among the 24,226 Chinese students in Russian universities in 2019, majors like economic management, engineering, architecture and machinery manufacturing are the most popular. Art, education and economic management are the top choices for students who chose graduate programs.
(Compiled by Ma Xiaoxi)