English-taught degrees still include Chinese: the compulsory courses
Yes. Article 16 of the Measures for the Administration of Schools Recruiting and Educating International Students (Order No. 42, jointly issued by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security) says that Chinese and China overview shall be compulsory courses in higher education degree education. The article names no language of instruction. The 2018 Quality Standards for the Higher Education of International Students in China (Trial) set a minimum Chinese level at graduation for programmes taught in a foreign language.
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The English wording below is this site's translation of the Chinese texts.
Chinese in degree education under Order No. 42
Order No. 42 has three articles that bear on this question.
- Article 16: Chinese and China overview shall be compulsory courses in higher education degree education. Article 16 sets no credit or hour count for them.
- Article 18: The national common language and script (Standard Chinese) is the basic teaching language for international students in higher education. Institutions may provide necessary remedial conditions for students whose Chinese does not meet the study requirement.
- Article 19: Qualified institutions may offer professional courses taught in a foreign language to international students. For students in foreign-language degree education, the thesis may be written in the corresponding foreign language, and the abstract shall be in Chinese. Article 19 leaves the choice of defence language to the school.
What the 2018 Quality Standards add
Section 6.2 of the Quality Standards (notice Jiao Wai [2018] No. 50) says that the training plan for international students in a degree programme shall include a Chinese proficiency requirement and a compulsory requirement for China overview courses. Section 6.2 also says that universities shall arrange sufficient and suitable Chinese courses and China overview courses to meet the course needs of international students. Section 6.2 sets no level for the Chinese proficiency requirement.
The graduation-level language line in the first part of the Quality Standards (语言能力) covers programmes taught in a foreign language:
| Level of study | Chinese level at graduation |
|---|---|
| Undergraduate | At least level 4 |
| Master's | At least level 3 |
| Doctoral | At least level 3 |
These levels belong to the International Chinese Proficiency Standards (国际汉语能力标准). The line gives no HSK level.
What the texts leave open
- The texts above do not list the Chinese courses of any particular English-taught programme. Section 6.2 places the Chinese and China overview requirements in the programme's training plan.
- Article 16 sets no credit or hour count for the compulsory courses.
- Article 18 uses "may" for remedial conditions, so the institution decides whether to provide them.
Sources
- Measures for the Administration of Schools Recruiting and Educating International Students (Order No. 42), Ministry of Education of the PRC
- Quality Standards for the Higher Education of International Students in China (Trial), Ministry of Education of the PRC
Checked 11 October 2026.
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