Before the Covid-19 pandemic, China reported over 490,000 international students from 196 countries studying on the Chinese mainland, just behind the US, UK, and Canada. Yet the country’s strict border closures have locked the majority of these students outside the mainland for the past two years. International students pre-pandemic were drawn by China’s cultural opportunities and scholarship offers. Post-pandemic, international applicants still willing to apply to China are driven by personal motivations in four main trends: Overseas Chinese, Education-Focused, Scholarship, and Career Focused. We explore more with Richard Coward, CEO of Global Admissions.