First official visit of Greeks to Beijing to attract Chinese students

“Admitting 10,000-20,000 Chinese students every year to Greek universities, under all programs, would be a realistic goal,” according to the SiG President.

Representing our country, Professor Christos Michalakelis, President of Study in Greece (SiG), made the first official visit to Beijing, together with his colleague Diana Zhong, Head of International Partnerships, with the aim of promoting Greek academic programs and opening new channels of institutional cooperation.

The visit included participation in the China Study Abroad Forum (CSAF), an official meeting at the Embassy of the Hellenic Republic in Beijing and academic contacts with leading institutions such as the Beijing Language and Culture University and Peking University. Through these activities, Study in Greece has reinforced its mission to create strong international links and promote Greece as a hub of quality education and global academic exchange.

“This is the first time we went to China officially, as representatives of our country’s universities, to declare Greece’s academic presence in the arena of internationalization – we presented the foreign language study programs, the summer schools, the student exchange programs,” Professor Michalakelis will tell protothema.gr. The visit was prompted by the head of the Greek consular office in Beijing, who noted that requests for student visas have increased. “He informed us and we organized the trip directly,” said the SiG president.

A clear shift in the international academic market is now being made by the Chinese, as they consider it necessary for their students to visit overseas as part of their studies. “In China, 2-2 programmes are preferred, i.e. two years of study in Greece and two years in China – they are all in English, and scholarships are also given,” explains Professor Michalakelis, who reflects the approach of the Chinese towards our country: “They have unlimited respect and appreciation for our culture. They listen to Greece and are enthusiastic.”

Regarding whether Chinese students are targeting a specific field of study, the SiG president stresses that “in the short programs, they are interested in classical studies to learn about Greek culture. In the undergraduate courses, they are interested in the sciences that will get them a job: computer science, sustainable development, economics or shipping, for which Greece is known.”

Study in Greece at CSAF 2025
Greek higher education was represented at the China Study Abroad Forum (CSAF) in Beijing, organized by the Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange (CSCSE), by Professor Christos Michalakelis, President of Study in Greece (SiG). He participated as a speaker along with representatives of the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, the Ambassador of Singapore Mr. Peter Tan, and university rectors from five countries while the theme of the forum was: Quality, Trust and Safety in International Education.

In his speech, Professor Michalakelis emphasized the importance of these values and their alignment with SiG’s mission to promote Greek universities and global academic cooperation. He emphasized Greece’s long scientific tradition, as well as its progress in modern fields, offering high quality and affordable education in a safe and welcoming environment. He reaffirmed SiG’s vision of education being a “bridge, not a frontier” and stated its commitment to working with CSCSE to enhance meaningful academic exchanges.

“Our main aim is to attract Chinese students to Greece, in our undergraduate and postgraduate programs, summer programs and student exchange programs, either for a semester or for a shorter period of time – this is the main goal of internationalisation. In this way, we hope to stimulate the regional universities, in particular, on the part of which there is already strong interest. Secondarily, we are interested in launching partnerships between Chinese and Greek universities,” he said, adding: “At this stage, what makes sense is to bring students to Greece. And it should be recalled that some Greek universities already have partnerships with Chinese universities – the University of Patras, Ionian University, the University of West Attica and West Macedonia, Panteion… However, these are partnerships that operate on an individual basis . Now, we want to move to a more organised basis through Study in Greece in China.”

Prior to the forum, Professor Michalakelis visited the CSCSE headquarters and met with its Director General, WANG Daquan. The meeting was also attended by Deputy Director General XIA Jianhui, Director of Study in China MA Yun, Program Manager WANG Shan, Dean of the Research Institute of the Belt & Road Initiative at BLCU, Professor XU Baofeng, and Diana Zhong. Discussions focused on strengthening cooperation between Greek and Chinese educational institutions and expanding academic and student/teaching exchanges.