Key takeaways:

Traditional study destinations face new challenges
Student visa approval rates from China have declined in the US, UK, and Canada. Only Australia and New Zealand are currently seeing growth. While policies in these four study destinations are becoming more restrictive, several Asian countries are adopting more favourable measures to attract Chinese students.

Cost is becoming a major decision factor
Amid economic uncertainty and rising employment pressure in China, families are increasingly value-conscious. Tuition fee comparisons show significant differences—destinations like Japan and Malaysia are far more affordable than the UK and US, influencing Chinese students’ choices.

The agency landscape in China remains highly dynamic
In Tier 1 cities, only 44% of agencies that were actively sending Chinese students abroad in 2022 remain operational today. BONARD Education’s agency distribution map reflects these shifts and reveals emerging Chinese student preferences across destinations and programme types.

Many agencies are in “hibernation mode”
Rather than focusing on immediate recruitment, many agencies are currently building internal capacity and forming new overseas partnerships. For education institutions, this signals a need to rethink Chinese student recruitment strategies in a market that remains large—but is no longer the “easy goldmine” it once was.