All institutions of higher learning in China are open to enroll students from overseas, the Beijing Youth Daily reported on Thursday.

According to sources with the Chinese Ministry of Education, more than 400 colleges and universities in China had enrolled overseas students by the middle of this year, and the number of overseas students has been increasing by 5,000 each year.

By the end of 2001, a total of 460,000 overseas students from 170 foreign countries have come to study in China, a stark contrast to the 30-odd students from only five foreign countries who came 50 years ago.

In 2001, China accepted a total of over 61,000 overseas students from 169 foreign countries and regions.

The largest numbers of students come from the Republic of Korea, Japan, the United States, Indonesia and Germany.

Traditionally, overseas students came to learn Chinese, traditional Chinese medicine and operas, education officials said, but now students can choose any area of study and more and more are branching in to new majors offering degrees.

(Xinhua News Agency November 1, 2002)