International Education Matters

A Forum for Issues Pertaining to
Intensive English Programs

"People’s Republic of China and the Department of State: Time for a New Paradigm"

by Scott Stevens
November 2003

In the People’s Republic of China, it is rare for an applicant to obtain a visa to attend an intensive English program (IEP) in the States. Much of the problem stems from the Department of State (DOS) not having kept up with the rapid changes in the Chinese economy. As recently as five years ago, few Chinese citizens had the means to afford studying in the U.S., and consular officers rightly feared that individuals would use the student visa to enter our country and not return, preferring to stay illegally and seek employment.

But things have changed dramatically in the P.R.C. over the past decade. Since Deng Xiaoping's creation in the late 1980's of special economic development zones around cities like Shenzhen and Shanghai, China's economy has brought wealth to the individual Chinese citizen through its so-called "socialist market economy." The re-absorption of Hong Kong in 1997 greatly accelerated the PRC's economic expansion, opening the way for major foreign investment and trade. Although only about 5% of the Chinese population can today be classified as middle or upper class, that figure translates into 55 million individuals--a huge market by any measure. These are individuals who own homes, cars, businesses, and sizeable bank accounts—and, because of China’s lower cost of living, are enjoying a far higher standard of living than they could ever achieve in the U.S.

Economic expansion will only increase with China's membership in the WTO and the recent decision by ASEAN leaders to create a free trade area with China. That such prosperity has occurred in such a brief period of time, unabated by the recent worldwide economic slowdown, lends credibility to the claims by an increasing number of economists that China will soon vie with the US for leadership among the world's largest economies. A recent congressional report by the China Review Commission includes South Korea's Economic and Finance Minister's description of China as "becoming a 'juggernaut in the global economy, turning itself into the world's manufacturing plant'" (The National Security Implications Of The Economic Relationship Between The United States And China, July, 2002).

With China now thrust on the world stage of international trade and commerce, there exists a huge need for English skill development among millions of its professional and governmental employees. There is now no doubt that hundreds of thousands of Chinese families already have the financial means to pursue intensive English study in the States. This new economic reality seems lost on most consular officials, who continue the practice of assuming that every visa applicant aspires only to become an illegal alien in the U.S. It’s time the U.S. government recognizes the economic revolution that has taken hold in China and adopt more progressive visa issuance policies in light of these changes.

This file was updated on November 12, 2003