ABSTRACT
Chinese scholarly exchange is largely administered by the Foreign Affairs Office of the Ministry of Education in Beijing, which processes most exchanges involving staff or students of higher learning institutions. The American scene will be dealt with first since there were an estimated 9,000 Chinese scholars and students in USA in 1983 which represents about half of the whole contingent overseas. This chapter offers a context for reflection on the implications of present ambitious scholarly exchange programmes for the future of Chinese education. The Federal Republic of Germany has taken an active and energetic role in encouraging German-Chinese scholarly relations, and this is reflected in the fact that it hosts the second largest contingent of Chinese scholars and students in the western world. One of the most compelling trends of the present Chinese education system is the strengthening of hierarchy, resulting in an educational ladder that has some echoes of traditional China.
