According to the Chinese Ministry of Education, in 2013 more than 410,000 self-funded Chinese pursued their studies overseas and the number is ever increasing. Apart from the sheer scale, the market for self-funded Chinese students been characterized by the following:

1.    The number of students going abroad at a young age, i.e. for undergraduate education or even primary education, is growing rapidly;

2.    The Ministry of Education has approved 450 plus study abroad agencies and small agencies, but the overall satisfaction rate is low among students;

3.    The integrity of agencies and students are increasingly doubted by overseas institutions;

4.    The employment rate and job satisfaction of returnee students have been low. One of the reasons may be that students and advisors blindly follow the rank league or pursue so-called popular subjects, such as business;

5.    Many agencies or independent advisors are preoccupied by self interest and allow overseas institutions with questionable quality and credibility to survive in the Chinese market;

6.    Some experienced and qualified advisors do not get the respect and rewards they deserve, which adversely influences the service quality.

I started working for Chinese Service Centre for Scholarly Exchange in 1996 and participated in developing CIEET and educational certification of overseas returnee students. I served as CEO of a Beijing-based study abroad agency, worked in operations for overseas foundation- level educational programs, and participated in the management and operations of www.jsj.edu.cn by Ministry of Education.
 
Given my experience, I have a very deep understanding of the numerous problems with self-funded overseas education in China and have been striving to resolve them. Our mission is to build an efficient eco-system for Chinese self-funded study overseas services where everyone stands to win.

- from Mr Hu Benwei