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China Study Abroad
In addition to loans, another means of raising educational
quality, particularly in science, was to send students abroad to
study. A large number of Chinese students studied in the Soviet
Union before educational links and other cooperative programs with
the Soviet Union were severed in the late 1950s. In the 1960s and
1970s, China continued to send a small number of students abroad,
primarily to European universities. In October 1978 Chinese
students began to arrive in the United States; their numbers
accelerated after normalization of relations between the two
countries in January 1979, a policy consistent with modernization
needs. Although figures vary, more than 36,000 students, including
7,000 self-supporting students (those who paid their own way,
received scholarships from host institutions, or received help from
relatives and "foreign friends"), studied in 14 countries between
1978 and 1984. Of this total, 78 percent were technical personnel
sent abroad for advanced study. As of mid-1986 there were 15,000
Chinese scholars and graduates in American universities, compared
with the total of 19,000 scholars sent between 1979 and 1983.
Chinese students sent to the United States generally were not
typical undergraduates or graduate students but were mid-career
scientists, often thirty-five to forty-five years of age, seeking
advanced training in their areas of specialization. Often they were
individuals of exceptional ability who occupied responsible
positions in Chinese universities and research institutions. Fewer
than 15 percent of the earliest arrivals were degree candidates.
Nearly all the visiting scholars were in scientific fields.
Data as of July 1987
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