There is a sharp increase of Indian and Pakistani students studying in China, according to a new report.
As per graphics carried by the state-run Global Times today, India and Pakistan were among the top ten countries last year along the "Belt and Road" (Silk Road).
Thailand topped the list with 19,976, followed by India, 16,694, Russia, 16,197 and Pakistan 15,654.
The graphic which carried out a comparison between 2014-15 however said that India, Pakistan and Kazakhstan were the only countries which registered sharp increase, while the students from six other countries registered a decline.
India, which has over 8,000 medical students studying in China topped the list with an increase of 3,116, compared to 2014. Pakistan followed next with 2,294. Kazakistan posted an increase of 1434.
However numbers of students from Thailand, Russia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Mongolia posted a decline, while Malaysia had just an increase of five students with its students totalling to 6,650 last year.
The numbers of medical students from India studying in China is expected to register a sharp increase if Medical Council of India (MCI) recognise the MBBS degrees from China. Currently most of the students have to write a separate exam conducted by MCI to get the permission to practice in India.
The official feed back is that many students fail or struggle to make it.
According to recent reports from India, MCI plans to extend recognition from medical degrees from foreign countries in view of shortage of doctors in the country.
However students from India flock to Chinese medical colleges as they cost much less compared to the Indian private colleges and admissions are also relatively easy.
For students from Pakistan, China which has close strategic ties with Islamabad has become a preferred destination of sort, specially in science, medicine, engineering and other high technology courses like nuclear science and technology.
China's proposed "One Belt, One Road" initiative, a pet project of President Xi Jinping, aims to link the economic circles in East Asia and Europe, connecting China - on land and over water - to partners in Asia, Europe and Africa.
The initiative known as the revival of the ancient Silk Road trading route would link Asian markets with economic groups in Europe.
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