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2007 Summer China Post-Fair Report Many thanks from AIEF to all participants in the 2007 Summer American Education Fairs in China! Information on the following topics is included in this report:
US Embassy Briefing at the ACEE in Beijing
Shanghai Consulate General Briefing
AIEF Orientation Summary: China’s Study Abroad Market
Fair Venues & Attendance
Special Fair Seminars
2007 Fall American Education Fairs in Singapore, Korea, and Taiwan
U.S. Embassy Briefing at the ACEE in Beijing
Consular Officer, Ms. Marilyn Gayton, provided a briefing on the student visa situation in China to AIEF’s U.S. education delegation at the American Center for Educational Exchanges on July 12th. According to Ms. Gayton, over 36,000 student visas were issued in China in FY06, a 33% increase over FY05. 2007 appears to be on a course to surpass 2006. As of July 2007, there was a 36% increase in the number of students visas issued compared to the number issued during the same period of the previous year, she said.
Pointing out that U.S. consular officers have conducted web chats as a means of reaching out to prospective students from China, Ms. Gayton spoke about efforts to dispel various myths regarding student visas. These myths include the idea that there are student visa quotas and the misconception that the process takes too long. In fact, F, J, and M visas are given priority, with a maximum of seven days processing time, which is one-fifth the time it takes to process other visa types. Another myth mentioned was that to obtain a student visa it is necessary to major in the sciences and to be fully funded.
It was noted that there are three main items that consular officers look for when adjudicating student visa applications: the applicant is a legitimate student; proof of how study in the United States will be funded; and the student’s intent to return to China. The difficulty of verifying financial documents in China was addressed, and students were advised to be upfront about their sources of funding.
It was also stated that language study students can get visas, contrary to popular belief, especially if they have the purpose of academic study later on. Moreover, students may travel to the United States for campus visits; however, they should obtain a B visa with “prospective student” annotated on the visa.
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Shanghai Consulate General Briefing
On July 20th, AIEF’s U.S. education delegation members attended a briefing and fair orientation at the U.S. Consulate General’s facilities in the Portman Ritz-Carlton complex in Shanghai. Cultural Affairs Officer, Mr. Barry Simmons, commented on the rapid growth of the Chinese economy, observing that the Shanghai consular district is the wealthiest part of China. Five out of the top seven Chinese universities are located in this district, he said, including Jiaotong and Fudan universities.
Ms. Meredith Ludlow, Senior Commercial Specialist, explained that the mission of the Foreign Commercial Service (FCS) in China is to promote U.S. exports and foreign direct investment in the United States. She said that the FCS provides customized market research, and cooperates with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and the American Chamber of Commerce in China.
Ludlow observed that Shanghai is China’s infrastructure leader and if Shanghai were a country it would be the world’s 40th largest economy. She said that of the U.S. companies with operations in China, 58% are offering goods and services for the Chinese market, while 14% are exporting from China to the United States.
She highlighted some challenges to doing business in China: intellectual property rights infringements; insufficient transparency; corruption; protectionism; pollution; traffic congestion; work force turnover; and uncertainness about the stability of the financial system.
Consulate Officer Ms. Anne Linee said that currently she mainly works on environmental issues, but that her section also studies political and economic stability in China. She asserted that academics are everything in China, noting that people will spend a large percentage of their money to send their children to college. Nonetheless, she predicted that student loans will not be available in China in the near future. Linee stated that 130,000 visa applications of all kinds were processed in the Shanghai consular area last year. She also noted that the success rate for student visas in FY06 was 88% in the Shanghai consular area.
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AIEF Orientation Summary: China’s Study Abroad Market
Citing statistics from the 2006 “Open Doors” report, AIEF’s Mr. Stephen Smith revealed that China is the second-leading place of origin for students coming to the United States, with 62,582 students in 2005-2006. During this period, 76% were graduate students, 15% were undergraduate students, and 9% fell into other categories.
Smith said that the Chinese government has announced a new overseas study scholarship program for graduate students, through which 5,000 students are to be sent to top-ranking foreign institutions over a 5-year period. He also drew attention to the fact that, currently, joint programs with foreign institutions are under review by China’s Ministry of Education. As part of this review process, no new joint vocational education programs will be approved until 2009.
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Fair Venues & Attendance
AIEF’s 2007 Summer American Education Fairs in China took place from July 13-15 in Beijing at the China International Exhibition Centre, and in Shanghai at the Hua Ting Hotel from July 21-22. Nearly 30,000 visitors attended the multinational education expo in Beijing, which hosted 351 participant booths from 22 countries. The exhibition in Shanghai had 44 participant booths from 3 countries and drew in approximately 4,000 visitors. AIEF will soon share the student database that it collected at the fairs with all fair participants.
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Special Fair Seminars
A series of special seminars were offered at both the Beijing and Shanghai fair venues. Topics included “American Education Resources”, “Challenges Posed by New English Language Proficiency Testing”, “Attending Middle School in the U.S.”, “Studying Art and Design in New York City”, and “An Introduction to Graduate School for International Relations”.
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2007 Fall American Education Fairs in Singapore, Korea, and Taiwan
Registration is now open for AIEF’s 2007 Fall American Education Fairs in Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan. The upcoming 2007 Fall Fair schedule is as follows:
Seoul - October 6-7
Busan - October 9
Singapore - October 11
Taipei - October 13-14
Kaohsiung - October 15
Taichung - October 16
Online registration is available at:
http://www.aief-usa.org/services/signup_fair.htm. For more information, please visit our Website or call the AIEF’s California office at 714-985-1995.
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