80% of rich Chinese send children abroad to study

Nearly 80 percent of rich Chinese are preparing to send their children abroad, according to a study by Hurun Research.

The report, “Special Report on 2014 Overseas Education” indicates that rich Chinese are the keenest to send their children overseas, and they are starting to go abroad at an earlier age.

By comparison, less than 1 percent of rich Japanese are sending children overseas, less than 5 percent in France and less than 20 percent in Germany.

The time these Chinese students spend aboard has increased to eight years on average from two years ten years ago. Children of millionaires tend to go aboard at eighteen years old, and children of billionaires go abroad at sixteen on average. Summer camps have been the fastest growing form of overseas study in the last three years, attracting students aged thirteen to seventeen on average, and popular countries are the United States, Britain, Australia and Canada. Some critics have claimed the trend will lead to a loss of talent in China.

Chen Fengying from the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations Institute of World Economy said: “I don’t think sending children to go aboard is a bad idea. They often go back to take over the family business as soon as they finish their study overseas, and the successful people among them contribute to our national development. However, I don’t think studying aboard at a young age is a good idea, because the overseas students often become integrated and are not willing to go back.”