Compulsory Chinese and China overview courses in a bachelor's programme

Order No. 42 makes Chinese and China overview compulsory in higher education degree education. It makes political theory compulsory only for international students of philosophy and politics, and Article 16 names no other compulsory course. Article 16 does not list bachelor's programmes by name, so the question of whether a bachelor's programme is a "higher education degree education" programme rests on the wording of that phrase.

What Order No. 42, Article 16 says

Order No. 42 is the Measures for the Administration of Schools Recruiting and Educating International Students, issued by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security. The Quality Standards are the Quality Standards for the Higher Education of International Students in China (Trial), issued by Ministry of Education notice 教外〔2018〕50号. Both are Chinese texts. The English wording here is this site's translation of the Chinese text.

Article 16 has two paragraphs. The first paragraph says that international students shall follow the curriculum and teaching plan of the higher education institution. It also says they shall take the graduation examinations or assessments set under the rules, and that the school shall record their results and daily performance.

The second paragraph sets the course rules:

Provision	What it says
Order No. 42, Article 16, second paragraph, first sentence	Chinese and China overview shall be compulsory courses in higher education degree education.
Order No. 42, Article 16, second paragraph, second sentence	Political theory shall be a compulsory course for international students studying philosophy and politics.

Article 16 names no other compulsory course for international students.

What the Quality Standards add

The Quality Standards are trial standards. Section 6.2 is addressed to higher education institutions, and it covers the training plan for international students.

Section 6.2 says that the training plan shall contain a requirement on Chinese-language ability. It also says the training plan shall contain compulsory requirements for China overview courses. Section 6.2 does not set the level of Chinese-language ability itself.

Section 6.2 also says that the training plan should not include national-defence education or military courses. The section names two kinds of content in this exclusion: military theory teaching and military skills training.

Section 6.2 says that universities shall arrange enough suitable Chinese courses and China overview courses to meet the needs of international students.

Military training and political activities

Article 26, second paragraph, of Order No. 42 says that higher education institutions generally do not organise international students to take part in military training or political activities. The word "generally" is part of the rule as written. The article does not say that the rule has no exceptions.

Section 6.2 of the Quality Standards and Article 26 of Order No. 42 are separate provisions. Section 6.2 concerns what the training plan should not contain. Article 26 concerns what the university generally does not organise.

Suggestion for reading an admissions brochure

This is a suggestion, not a requirement. Check the course list in the university's own admissions brochure and in its training plan for the programme you are considering. Compare that list with the two rules above. The brochure and the training plan are where a university sets out how it applies these rules to its programmes.

Sources

Checked 11 October 2026

This page is an unofficial summary. It is not published by or affiliated with the Ministry of Education, the China Scholarship Council or any university, and it is not legal advice. If the official text and the current notice of the university or authority handling your case differ, the official text and that notice prevail.