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Aspects of International Education: The two teachers mentioned that many parents in China are currently transferring their children to international education, mainly hoping that their children can enter famous foreign schools and thus achieve better development. However, we can also see a trend: the cost of famous foreign schools is getting higher and higher, but the cost performance seems to be declining. More and more reports point out that graduates from famous schools such as Harvard and Stanford also face employment difficulties, and some graduates even choose to return to China to take the civil service exam. In addition, the admission scores of international departments of public schools in Beijing have also declined this year. This may reflect that many parents are beginning to reconsider whether it is worth spending hundreds of thousands or even millions to send their children to famous schools in the United States? What do the two teachers think of this phenomenon?

Zheng Jinlian:We have been conducting research on overseas study since 2012 and publish the "China Study Abroad Development Report" every year. Over the years, we have also conducted in-depth research on surveys of overseas students and their willingness to return to China. According to the survey, the situation has changed in the past decade. The most impressive one is a survey in 2016, which found that 86% of the overseas students interviewed said that they could find a job in China within half a year. However, survey data in the past two years show that this proportion has dropped significantly. In terms of salary, it is also significantly lower than expected. For example, in the 2015 survey, more than 40% of overseas students believed that studying abroad was cost-effective and could recover the cost, but now this time span has become longer because the salary level after returning to China may only be a few thousand yuan. There are more than 10 million domestic graduates every year, and the new job market is fiercely competitive, including some returnees. This is also a major trend in the current employment situation.

From an economic perspective, the initial investment in studying abroad is huge, including tuition, living expenses and other expenses. For example, tuition and living expenses in the United States may reach 60,000 US dollars (about 430,000 RMB) per year. But the value of studying abroad cannot be measured only from an economic perspective. The real value of international education lies in cross-cultural communication and experience, which includes the improvement of language skills, the expansion of international vision and the improvement of personal comprehensive ability. Over the past decade, I have come into contact with many international students who return to China for internships every summer and winter vacation, and I found that early international students paid more attention to the improvement of comprehensive abilities, while today's post-00 international students believe that studying abroad is something they must experience in their lives, because it is the most important way for them to understand the world and experience different cultures.

From the perspective of employment competitiveness, many parents now choose to send their children to study abroad in Southeast Asian countries, such as Thailand and Malaysia. This trend reflects a shift in educational choices. In the past, we usually sent our children to Europe and the United States for education because these countries have richer educational resources. However, with the gradual improvement of China's higher education level, the country can also provide high-quality education. Therefore, the threshold for studying abroad has become relatively low, and parents have begun to pay attention to other factors.

For example, in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative, the globalization of Chinese companies has prompted parents to pay attention to study abroad opportunities in some small countries. Although the education level in these countries may not be as good as that in China, the language skills, cultural experience and connections gained from studying in these countries are of great value for future career development and cooperation with Chinese companies. These experiences can help students play a greater role in the local area and in the interaction between Chinese companies and the local area.

Chen Zhiwen:From the perspective of investment returns, for most children, especially those who go to study in the UK and the US, the return on study may not be worth the investment. But raising a child is a losing investment in itself. If you consider the investment benefits, you should not have children. When it comes to a child’s growth and education, we should not simply calculate the economic benefits.I think the greatest value and significance of studying abroad is to "see the world". A person's pattern and career development often come from extensive knowledge and experience. If conditions permit, sending children abroad to study is particularly meaningful because it allows them to see a different world. From a small village to a provincial capital, and then to Beijing and Shanghai, the vision and self-positioning will be different. Similarly, going to countries with different cultures and systems such as London and New York will also give children a different understanding of the world and their own development. This is the so-called cultural difference, which also includes institutional differences.

For example, more than 20 years ago, I met a homeless man at the door of Toronto City Hall in Canada. He was crawling with rats. He put a hat in front of him with the word "Donation" written on it. The general idea was that he, like the homeless man and those rats, was a homeless person, and asked him to give some money so that he could buy some food for the rats. I accidentally saw a book of "Calculus" in his hand, which surprised me. After a simple exchange, I learned that he was a master's graduate from the Department of Mathematics at the University of Toronto and had taught mathematics in middle school. Later, he suddenly got tired of this predictable life and chose to wander. At that moment, I understood that wandering can be a lifestyle choice, not completely forced. In China, wandering is often regarded as a miserable situation, but in some Western countries, wandering may be a lifestyle choice. For example, the homeless man who pulls the door for customers in the mall may actually live in a five-star hotel for a few days after receiving the relief money every month, and then continue to wander after it runs out. This phenomenon has overturned many of my cognitions.

The purpose of this story is to illustrate the importance of understanding and seeing different cultures.In international politics and cultural exchanges, many opinions may be misjudged due to differences in culture and system. On the Internet, most opinions on international politics are often inaccurate because they are based on our culture and system to understand other countries. There are not many researchers who can truly understand international issues from a multi-level cultural perspective.Therefore, I think it is very important to "see the world" and not just evaluate the value of studying abroad from an economic perspective.

At the same time, I would also like to respond to the point that Professor Zheng just mentioned. In the past, we mainly chose the United Kingdom and the United States as the destination for studying abroad, and an important direction in the future will be the "Belt and Road" countries. The reason is simple, because the United States has increased entry restrictions on some groups of people. However, the United States has implemented a series of measures to contain China since 2018, from trade to technology, and even talent restrictions. In particular, the visa restrictions on high-level Chinese talents are mainly aimed at science and engineering majors. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Campbell publicly stated at a think tank meeting in June this year that the United States welcomes Chinese students, but only welcomes students majoring in liberal arts, not science and engineering students. This measure shows that the most economically rewarding majors - science and engineering majors, are excluded, which means that many opportunities for outstanding Chinese students are blocked.

In the face of the comprehensive containment of the United States, a circulation circle centered on the United States and another circulation circle centered on China may be formed in the future. China's global circulation is mainly the "Belt and Road" countries. These countries have relatively large social development space, similar to the situation in China's past reform and opening up period. Therefore, these countries may provide more opportunities. Although many parents are worried about safety issues, this is a problem that cannot be completely solved anywhere. If you are pursuing a relatively stable life, you can consider going to European and American countries. Back in China in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the income of the first batch of overseas Chinese in foreign companies was much higher than that in the system, and the gap was even more than 20 times. This phenomenon was unimaginable at the time. Similarly, similar opportunities exist in the "Belt and Road" countries today. For example, a small internet celebrity from Henan who is very popular on the short video platform works in Africa, and there may be no such opportunities and development space in European and American countries.