A Historical Study of Pakistani Students Studying in China

Abstract

China and Pakistan are friendly neighboring countries that have maintained close educational and cultural exchanges. In recent years, the number of Pakistani students studying in China has continued to increase, with Pakistan rising from the seventeenth-largest source country of international students in China in 2003 to the third-largest since 2017. The educational composition of these students has gradually evolved from being predominantly undergraduate-based to a more balanced structure encompassing undergraduate, master's, and doctoral education. This change has been achieved under the combined influence of “push” and “pull” factors. The primary “push” forces include the scarcity of higher education resources in Pakistan, policy changes in popular Western study destinations, and the positive perception among Pakistani students and parents regarding studying in China; while the main “pull” forces consist of the deepening economic and educational cooperation between China and Pakistan, the improvement in the quality of higher education in China, the comprehensive cost advantages of studying in China, and cultural affinity between the two countries.