The rise of China: a threat or opportunity for Australian universities?

Abstract

There has been lots of discussion in the media around the rise of China and the potential threat it poses to Australian higher education - not least given that education in Australia is a big driver for the economy as the third-largest export earner. But is there really cause for concern? There is no doubt that China's higher education sector is gaining strength. Over the past five years, Chinese universities have started to rise up the world university rankings. They have done this while charging significantly lower tuition fees (around US$1,000 per year) compared with competing countries such as the UK (US$13,430), the US (US$9,139), Australia (US$4,770 to US$7,960 depending on the course) and Canada (US$4,534).