Research On The Education Of International Students Sent And Received By China And The Five Countries Along The “Belt And Road” (1978-2018)

The Belt and Road Initiative is an important idea of development and long-term vision,which contributes to the improvement of the global governance system and to establish a community of shared future for mankind.The Initiative has been launched in 2013,however,the international student education between China the the countries along the Belt and Road has never stopped ever since the Open and Reform Policy of 1978.In this study,five countries have been observed as the representative of the countries along the Belt and Road,which are Russia,India,Pakistan,Thailand and Malaysia.This thesis intends to explore the history of higher education of international students between China and the five countries in the year from 1978 to2018,providing an image of the historical process of the development under different international and domestic backgrounds including politics,economy,diplomatic relationships and education policy.The approaches and methods of the study mainly include historical research and oral history study.The education for international students is a specific category in higher education.It can be divided into two schemes as sending Chinese students overseas and receiving students inbound,which shares the similarities under the domestic education policy,as well as unique characteristics with the independent development processes.Regarding to the historical backgrounds of the social and economical development,important domestic education policy and the facts like the quantities of international students,three major historical periods have been identified as " the period of new beginning","the period of deepening the reform" and "the period of acceleration",which describes the history of international student education between China and the five countries along the Belt and Road,by analyzing the effects of international relations,global economic situations,China's domestic reform in economy and education,the education policies for higher education and international student,as well as recording the personal experiences of individual students.The conclusion of this study includes the following points: first of all,the education for international students between China and the five countries along the Belt and Road has contributed a lot to the social progress and the public diplomacy in the past 40 years;there are many factors influence the development of higher education for international students between China and the five countries along the Belt and Road : from a global perspective,the international politics and diplomatic relationships are the preconditions for international studenteducation;the improvements of education of the five countries are the foundations for their collaborations with China;from a domestic perspective,China's economic growth has laid a foundation for the development of international education;meanwhile,the domestic education policies in different periods have decided the the orientations and the speed of the development of education for international students.Generally speaking,the policies of dispatching Chinese students and receiving students overseas have changed from overall planning to respective approaches and then to the orientation of overall planning again in the past 40 years.Secondly,there are fruitful experiences of sending Chinese students overseas and receiving international students inbound in the past 40 years.It has enhanced the internationalization of China's higher education and promoted the cultural exchanges between China and the countries along the Belt and Road.Regulations and administrative systems have been established so as to meet the growing requirements.The strength of the education market has been recognized since the education for international student has become part of the international trade.Meanwhile,international student education has also contributed to the international understanding and the public diplomacy.Facing the new challenges in the new era,there are still some problems need to be resolved in the future.Here are some suggestions: the importance of international student education should be emphasized in the national and global higher education system;sending more students to the countries along the Belt and Road deserves to be the priority in policy making;the balance of sending students to the countries along the Belt and Road and receiving students from those countries need to be considered while the education quality calls for more attention rather than the quantities.The safety issues of international student education requires more attention as well.It is necessary to balance the international student education inbound and outbound,improving the education quality while increasing the numbers of the students,keeping a proper expectation of the speed and the profits.The international student education between China and the countries along the Belt and Road could contribute to the Belt and Road Initiative,by training talents,accelerating the changes of the minds and to make new progress for the society,expecting a community of shared future for mankind,dedicating to the economic development,as well as the connectivity about people-to-people exchanges.