Photo: VCG

China's top overseas education service center, the Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange (CSCSE) under the Ministry of Education, will host its annual flagship forum and education fair starting April 10, under the theme of "inclusion and cooperation," the center announced on Wednesday.

The 22nd China Study Abroad Forum and the 31st China International Education Exhibition Tour will open at the Beijing National Convention Centre. The exhibition will run through April 20, traveling to five cities, namely Beijing, Chengdu, Zhengzhou, Wuhan, and Shanghai, according to the center.

Foreign participation at the exhibition reflects growing interest from both traditional and emerging partners.

Wang Daquan, director of the CSCSE, revealed at the press conference that more than 1,000 participants are expected to attend, including a number of university presidents from China and abroad.

Wang told the Global Times that there is a rising trend in Chinese students studying overseas coming back to seek employment over the past years. 

Based on this situation, he said, the center is upgrading its online platform to help returning graduates navigate a competitive domestic job market. The revamped national employment service for returnees has already attracted over 2,000 employers and 400,000 job-seekers, with a spring recruitment drive to be launched at the forum.

A separate program, known as "Chunhui," will offer internship opportunities and entrepreneurship training to connect overseas students with business needs at home, Wang added.

Addressing growing concerns over overseas students' safety and mental health amid today's volatile international situation, Wang said the CSCSE is strengthening its "Safe Study Abroad" initiative. 

"Safety is the foundation. If safety is not guaranteed while studying abroad, it will be unlikely for students and their families to choose that destination," said Wang, adding that it has organized offline and online training on safety, fraud prevention and mental health, which covered hundreds of thousands of people in 2025. 

A public welfare overseas rescue insurance plan and an online psychological counseling team have been set up, serving nearly 38,000 students by the end of 2025, with plans to expand mental health support and add legal aid services.

The event also underscored efforts to promote China as a study destination. Wang said the number of international students coming to China has grown significantly over the past three years, with a wider range of source countries and a sharp increase in degree-seeking students.

China offers "the highest cost-performance ratio" in higher education, Wang said, with stable policies and a safe environment. The center has launched 72 "Study in China" courses in fields such as artificial intelligence and environmental protection, attracting over 1,000 overseas students for short-term programs.

The forum, first held in 2004, has become a key platform for Chinese-foreign educational dialogue. The 2026 edition aims to translate the principles of quality, trust and safety that were first proposed in 2025 into concrete practices.

The center will release three major reports: an assessment of the overseas study environment, data on returning graduates' employment, and an analysis of entrepreneurial patterns among Chinese overseas alumni.

"We aim to provide comprehensive, high-quality data support for policymaking, academic research, and market choices," Wang said, adding that the reports would help build a "multilateral collaborative ecosystem" for international education.