China is booming. An estimation of the annual growth of the Chinese GDP is reaching more than 7% over the coming five years. Entering the WTO also underlines that China is opening up to foreign nations. The Chinese people have become more and more open minded as well, familiarizing themselves with Western culture though the media and direct contact with foreigners, yet cherishing their rich Chinese culture.
 
China has already drawn the attention of the west for its impressive growth rates. The upcoming Olympic games in 2008 will only intensify this attention. Chinese companies are booming, even growing to the extent that some companies are now trying to take over major multinationals. More and more companies want to do business with China. Dutch companies do not lag behind in that perspective. What to think about the fact that there are at least 100 Dutch companies registered in Shanghai alone. Apart from the embassies there are an additional 8 business support offices throughout China to facilitate just that. No doubt in the future there will be a growing demand for Chinese speaking people, or at least people who know how to do things “the Chinese way”.

China has a history that covers over four thousand years. Ever since Confucius, education has been very important to the Chinese. The average literacy rate among adults reached an average of 94 per cent and in China there are over 6 million university students. Education and R&D have become priority in China.

China is no longer the country which produces merely cheap and therefore cheap quality products. More and more high quality products enter the international markets. China also represents a huge consumer market with over 1,3 billion consumers, and it seems every country is eager to get a piece of this market-pie.

China is very representative for an Asian country. Many cultures can trace their origin back to the Chinese culture. The way Chinese communicate with each other and with foreigners is typical “Asian” and learning how to communicate with Chinese people can certainly be helpful if you are planning to work with or in Asia. Choosing for a study in China will enable to view things from a Chinese perspective. Combining the knowledge and views of both East and West will certainly give you an advantage when working in Asia. The best way of getting to know a language or a culture is to be in such an environment. Now you will have the opportunity to get to know the Chinese language, the Chinese people and their culture.

We are now proud to present an overview of international courses you can take at some of China’s top universities. In the case of international programs, no basic knowledge of Chinese is required. In most cases you are able to take additional courses of Chinese and some universities have made this compulsory. Learning a bit of Chinese will facilitate communication with Chinese and mutual understanding though.

Studying in China has become more and more attractive. The agreement our Minister of Education, Culture and Science, Mrs. Maria van der Hoeve, signed with her Chinese counterpart has enabled both countries to mutually recognise diploma’s of secondary education. Moreover, since our educational reform, introducing the Bachelor/Master system provided us with a system that is generally recognised worldwide, students in many cases are able to follow a part of their education at a foreign institute, and continuing their studies at their own institute afterwards.
This brochure is to provide you with an overview of options for studying in China. For more information you can contact our office or the universities directly.