Are Confucius Institutes Building Blocks or Stumbling Blocks for Foreign Students in China - An Empirical Study of 190 Countries (1999-2015)

Oct 15, 2026

This study investigates how Confucius Institutes affect China’s international education initiatives. It tests whether establishing Confucius Institutes draws more foreign students to China and whether impacts vary with students’ attributes and the type of programs they choose. Using a trade gravity model and push-pull theory, the research estimates a two-way fixed-effects panel model covering all source countries from 1999 to 2015.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

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Pages19

Reading Time48 min

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Abstract

Introduction and literature review

Are Confucius Institutes Building Blocks or Stumbling Blocks for Foreign Students in China: An Empirical Study of 190 Countries (1999–2015) Dongyang Chen and Wei Ha Peking University ECNU Review of Education 2020, Vol. 3(2) 235–253 ª The Author(s) 2020 Article reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[DOI: 10.1177/2096531120913682](DOI: 10.1177/2096531120913682)[ ](DOI: 10.1177/2096531120913682)[journals.sagepub.com/home/roe](journals.sagepub.com/home/roe) Abstract Purpose: This study investigates the impact of Confucius Institutes on China’s international education initiatives. First, it examines whether the establishment of Confucius Institutes has a gravitational effect on the scale of foreign students coming to China. Second, it discerns whether there are any association between the establishment of Confucius Institutes and the attributes of foreign students based on the type of program they select. Third, it identifies whether there are any differences in the impact of Confucius Institutes based on constraints such as the number of foreign students, income levels, cultural distance, and geographical endowment. Design/Approach/Methods: Based on the trade gravity model and the push–pull theory, we estimated a two-way fixed-effects model using panel data of all source countries from 1999 to 2015. Findings: Results show that Confucius Institutes have helped China attract more foreign students on Chinese government scholarships, with each Institute increasing such enrolment by 1.3%. However, Confucius Institutes have resulted in a drop in the total number of foreign students studying in China, especially nondegree students. This substitution effect means that the Corresponding author: Wei Ha, Graduate School of Education/Institute of Economics Education, Peking University, No. 5 Yiheyuan Road, Haidian District, 100871 Beijing, China. [Email: wha@pku.edu.cn](Email: wha@pku.edu.cn) Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License ([https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages ([https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage](https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage)). Institutes actually help China improve the composition of its foreign students. Further heterogeneity analysis shows that the substitution effect is primarily driven by the main source countries. Accordingly, this study suggests that China should establish more Confucius Institutes in Africa and Eastern Europe to maximize the catalyzing effect of Confucius Institutes. Originality/Value: In contrast to previous studies on foreign scholarship in China, this study examines all 190 source countries from 1999 to 2015 . This comprehensive study also explores the heterogeneous effects of foreign students on trade across economic, cultural, and geographical domains. Keywords Confucius Institute, foreign students in China, impact evaluation of policies, two-way fixed effects Date received: 27 January 2019; accepted: 27 February 2020 Introduction and literature review The opening-up of China’s higher education sector has developed rapidly since the beginning of the 21st century. In 1997, China received a total of 44,000 foreign students from 160 countries and regions. By 2016, the country had 443,000 foreign students from 205 countries and regions—making China Asia’s largest and the world’s third largest destination country for studying abroad ([People.cn](People.cn), 2017). There are three main reasons for this. First, China’s economic strength has been developing at a fast pace, and its international inf

FAQs

What does the study aim to determine about Confucius Institutes?

The study examines whether Confucius Institutes help attract more foreign students to China, whether effects differ by student attributes and program type, and whether impacts vary under constraints such as student numbers, income levels, cultural distance, and geography.

How is the empirical strategy designed?

The authors use the trade gravity model and push–pull theory to estimate a two-way fixed-effects model with panel data from all source countries covering 1999 to 2015.

What are the key findings regarding foreign student enrollment?

Confucius Institutes help China attract more foreign students on Chinese government scholarships, increasing such enrollment by 1.3% per institute, but they also lead to a drop in the total number of foreign students studying in China, particularly nondegree students.

Oct 15, 2026

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