BEIJING, April 12 (INP): A total of 492,185 international students from 196 countries and regions studied in China in 2018, the Ministry of Education said Friday. The number increased by 3,013 over that of 2017, said a ministry statement. They studied in 1,004 colleges in 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. About 60 percent of the international students were from Asia, with Pakistan, the Republic of Korea and Thailand ranking in the top three, the statement said. About 63,000 of them were sponsored by Chinese government scholarships, the ministry said. According to Chinese media’s report, Pakistan has emerged as World’s top recipient of Chinese scholarships, as currently there are around 7000 Pakistanis, who are studying in China in their relevant disciplines in different Chinese Universities. Latest statistics showed that the highest of number foreign students, studying in China on scholarships are from Pakistan. All these brilliant students are pursuing Bachelor’s, Master’s, PhD, or Advance Training Programs at some of China’s top universities taking on a diverse range of subjects like medical, Computer Science, Technology, Business Administration, Architecture, Civil Engineering, International Law, and Journalism. A record progress was witnessed during the last five years with the launching of China-Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC). This was also the result of vigorous efforts on the part of Chinese embassy in Islamabad. Currently, annually around 1000 students are getting scholarships in China, most of them availing the opportunity directly from the Chinese Universities and the local governments, As per the standing policy, China will continue to adopt generous policy towards Pakistan in socio-economic sector. It was hoped that having been educated in China and familiar with Chinese culture and practices, the selected students would have a bright future.