The dominant factors of the education of Chinese citizens abroad

the article presents a review of scholarship on the phenomenon of academic migration among Chinese youth. Studying abroad is framed as a vehicle for cultivating a global mindset and advancing innovative approaches to complex problems – capacities that are particularly salient amid the digital transformation of the economy. The purpose of the study is to identify the dominant factors influencing Chinese students’ decisions to pursue overseas education, based on a theoretical analysis of recent works by Chinese researchers. The author argues that interest in foreign education is driven not only by the creation of a supportive cultural-educational environment but also by substantial state support. Special attention is paid to the implementation of mechanisms of reverse talent migration: graduates educated abroad are encouraged and incentivized to return to China, facilitating knowledge and technology transfer through government programs (e.g., competitive employment packages, research grants, housing subsidies, and academic appointments).The article further contends that the family remains a central agent of socialization and of life-strategy formation in contemporary China, acting as a key source of social control and financial support. The effects of parental expectations on students abroad are mediated by adaptation mechanisms (compensation or avoidance), with the balance between these responses largely contingent on the level of intrafamilial communication and support. Beyond the family, the review highlights additional determinants of the choice to study abroad, including cultural factors (tradition and language), social factors (state support and social networks), and psychological factors (striving for self-realization, status considerations, fear of failure or rejection, and personal expectations).

academic migration, studying abroad, Chinese students, global mindset, reverse talent migration