First official visit of Greeks to Beijing to attract Chinese students

For the first time, an official visit of Greece to China was held to promote the academic programs of our country and to attract Chinese students to Greek universities. The visit was made by Professor Christos Michalakelis, President of Study in Greece (SiG), the national body for the internationalization of universities, together with his colleague Diana Zhong, Head of International Partnerships, who participated in the China Study Abroad Forum (CSAF). In addition, they had an official meeting at the Embassy of the Hellenic Republic in Beijing and academic contacts with leading institutions such as Beijing Language and Culture University and Peking University.

“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.

Official meeting of SiG President at the Greek Embassy in Beijing

The Embassy of the Hellenic Republic in Beijing hosted an official meeting with Professor Christos Michalakelis, with the aim of strengthening academic diplomacy and deepening educational ties between Greece and China. The meeting was attended by Ambassador Dr. Eugenios Kalpyris, as well as senior Embassy officials, including First Secretary and Head of the Consular Office Sebastian Eustatios Kontovounisios, Public Diplomacy Counselor Ioanna Kakalidi and Embassy Secretary for Public Diplomacy Irini Anastopoulou.

During the meeting, ways of promoting Greek universities to the Chinese public were examined and new opportunities for cooperation were sought. This was followed by a meeting with representatives of the China Education Association for International Exchange (CEAIE), with an exchange of views on future collaborations and SiG’s participation in events such as the China Annual Conference & Expo for International Education (CACIE) and the China Education Expo (CEE).

Lecture at BLCU and visit to Beijing University

Invited by Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU), SiG President spoke on the topic: “Internationalization of Higher Education in Greece: Study Opportunities for International Students”.

The event was hosted by the School of Sinology and Chinese Studies and attracted students interested in studying in Greece. The professor presented the Greek university system, international study programs, affordable tuition fees and a dynamic academic environment. He also emphasized Greece’s emerging role as a hub for international education and English-language programs for international students.

Prior to the lecture, a meeting was held with Dean Prof. XU Baofeng and General Secretary Prof. MA Tieshi to discuss proposals for cooperation between BLCU and Greek universities, including the establishment of a virtual hub to support Chinese students.

Subsequently, Professor Michalakelis visited Peking University, where he met with the representative of the International Cooperation Office (European Directorate), MA Lan, and Professor JIE Dalei of the School of International Studies. They discussed short-term projects and possible future collaborations to enhance cultural and academic exchanges.

The prospect of attracting Chinese students to Greece – How it is reflected in numbers

“Around 600,000 people leave China every year to study abroad,” Professor Michalakelis begins. From Greece’s point of view, a realistic target would be to admit 10,000-20,000 Chinese students each year to all programmes in total – including summer schools. Suffice it to say that there are currently around 150 foreign-language postgraduate programmes running in our country, and it is likely that 100 more will be created through the university partnerships that are already underway. Each of them admits about 40 students per year. Half of them could be Chinese. If we add the summer schools, we could reach 20,000 students.” “Every year 10 million Chinese students graduate from Chinese universities – that is, one ‘Greece’ gets a degree from China every year. With this in mind, I reiterated in my speech something Avramopoulos had said earlier: ‘We invite you to come, but not all at once’,” he concluded. “We are not asking for the same invitation, but we are not asking for anything else,” he said.

It is worth noting that Study in Greece, as the national body for the internationalization of Greek universities, is actively taking action to develop stable academic partnerships in Asia and promote Greece as a global center of education. The next target, according to the SiG president, is the academic markets of Africa and India.

Source: pagenews.gr