Over 3.17 lakh students from countries covered by the China's Belt and Road Initiative studied in China, the government said.
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a pet initiative of Chinese President Xi Jinping was proposed in 2013, and four years on, over 100 countries and international organisations have supported and got involved in this initiative.
A total of 317,200 students from BRI countries studied in China in 2017, up 11.58 per cent over 2016, accounting for 64.85 per cent of the total international students in China, the Ministry of Education said in a statement yesterday.
About 4.90 lakh foreigners from 204 countries and regions studied in China in 2017, more than any other country in Asia.
That included about 15, 000 Indian students, according to unofficial estimates. The Indian students mainly comprised of those studying medicine in colleges across China.
India has not backed the BRI as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, (CPEC) is its flagship project. India protested to China over the CPEC as it traverses through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
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China has been offering special scholarships for the students from countries under BRI.
Some Chinese universities have launched programmes inspired by the BRI to attract students from countries covered by it.
Renmin University of China, for instance, established a new college, named after the Silk Road, earlier this month on the campus in the eastern Chinese city of Suzhou.
The college will officially open in September, offering a two-year postgraduate programme on contemporary Chinese studies. It will provide full scholarships for international students.
Six other universities also signed an agreement with the Belt and Road Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission to enroll more international students from B&R countries, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.