China and the United States are trading more than just goods.
There are more Chinese college students studying in the US than from any other country for the 2010-2011 academic year. China also remains one of the hottest destinations for American students studying abroad, ranking No 1 among Asian countries.
The Institute of International Education and the US Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs released their annual Open Doors report on Monday.
Chinese student enrollment in the US rose to 157,558, nearly 22 percent of the total international student population, making China the leading country for the second consecutive year, followed by India (103,895), South Korea (73,351) and Canada (27,546), according to the report.
China sent 23 percent more students to the US compared with the previous academic year.
The annual report also proves there was a strong surge of interest by American students to study in China during the past decade, with nearly 14,000 American students in China in 2009-2010 compared with fewer than 3,000 a decade earlier.
"The continuous and increasing interest for students from the US and China to study in the two countries reflected an equal effort made by both governments to host students from each other's countries," said Peggy Blumenthal, senior counselor at the nonprofit Institute of International Education.
The number of Chinese students going to America still remains 10 times that of Americans coming to study in China.
Ye Feng, a doctoral candidate at Shanghai International Studies University, is participating in a one-year exchange program at the University of Delaware.
Ye has a scholarship through the Fulbright Program for Foreign Students, which is backed by the US government and invites top students and scholars to study in the US.
"What impressed me the most about American education is that the professors are emphasizing your ability of independent thinking and creativity; teaching skills are more instructive," Ye said.
Ye, who has been teaching high school English for years in China, said that the teaching practices he was exposed to in the US would be useful in improving his own teaching methods.
International students contributed more than $21.2 billion to the US economy in 2010, which was $10.2 billion more than 10 years ago.
Questions:
1. How many Chinese students are studying in the United States?
2. How many American students are studying in China?
3. How much do international students contribute to the US economy?
Answers:
1. 157,558, nearly 22 percent of the total international student population.
2. Nearly 14,000 in 2009-2010, compared with fewer than 3,000 a decade earlier.
3. More than $21.2 billion in 2010.
(中国日报网英语点津 Helen 编辑)
About the broadcaster:
Nelly Min is an editor at China Daily with more than 10 years of experience as a newspaper editor and photographer. She has worked at major newspapers in the U.S., including the Los Angeles Times and the Detroit Free Press. She is also fluent in Korean.