How much are tuition fees in China for international students?
Unofficial answer · Sources checked
There is no single national tuition fee for international students in China. Each university sets its own fee items and amounts under national rules and must publish them, together with its refund rules for withdrawal and transfer, priced in renminbi (Order No. 42, Article 14). The binding number for you is the figure your university publishes in its admission brochure and financial rules, not a national rate.
What the rules say
Order No. 42 was issued on 20 March 2017 and has been in force since 1 July 2017 (Article 48). Article 14 states that a higher education institution's fee items and standards for international students follow relevant national regulations, and that the institution shall publish its fee items, fee standards and refund rules for withdrawal and transfer; fees and refunds are priced in renminbi. English wording taken from Order No. 42 and the 2018 quality standards on this page is this site's translation of the Chinese text.
Article 23 of Order No. 42 requires a university to make public its basic information, its education provision, its admission brochure (招生简章) and its international student management and service rules, so that international students can obtain the information. The 2018 quality standards, section 2.1, state what a university's published admission information must contain: it lists school basics, education programmes, admission procedures and requirements, and financial regulations and policies, which the section defines as including fee standards, payment methods and refund policies. The standards are a trial document, attached to a Ministry of Education notice dated 3 September 2018, addressed to higher education institutions; they say what a university's own rules must contain.
So the official route to the binding number is the university's own published admission brochure and the financial rules published under section 2.1. The articles and sections read for this page do not set the amount themselves.
Who decides and what protects you
The university decides and publishes its fee items and amounts under national rules; the articles read for this page do not state a tuition figure set by a ministry. If a university fails to publish its fee items and standards, or charges outside the published items and standards, Article 44 of Order No. 42 provides that the competent education administrative department shall order it to correct the violation. Article 44 also provides for legal liability under the Education Law of the People's Republic of China and for possible restriction of the university's recruitment of international students.
The articles read for this page do not state any tuition amount or range; for the figure that applies to you, ask the university's international student office.
What the official pages do not say
The articles and sections read for this page — Order No. 42, Articles 14, 23 and 44, and the 2018 quality standards, section 2.1 — do not print any tuition fee amount or range for international students, and do not state the fee of any university. The Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship states that the scholarship covers tuition fees, listing coverage as tuition fees, free university dormitory or accommodation subsidy, a stipend and comprehensive medical insurance; that is a condition of that scholarship, not a general rule for studying in China. The Guide page read for this page carries no publication date and no academic year.
The articles and sections read for this page do not compare universities by cost, and do not state which programmes cost more than others. Where they are silent, this page does not fill the gap from practice or from another country's rules.
Related questions
Does the Chinese Government Scholarship cover tuition?
The Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship lists tuition fees as the first item of scholarship coverage, alongside free university dormitory or accommodation subsidy, a stipend and comprehensive medical insurance. This is stated as a condition of that scholarship, not as a general rule for all study in China; the articles read for this page do not state that every scholarship covers tuition. See scholarships.
Where must a university publish its tuition fees?
Order No. 42, Article 23 requires the university to make public its admission brochure, and the 2018 quality standards, section 2.1, requires the published admission information to include financial regulations and policies such as fee standards, payment methods and refund policies. The binding published figure is in those university documents.
Are tuition fees for international students charged in renminbi?
Yes. Order No. 42, Article 14 states that the charging and refunding of fees for international students are priced in renminbi.
Sources
- Administrative Measures for the Enrolment and Education of International Students by Schools (Order No. 42 of the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security), Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China (moe.gov.cn)
- Quality Standards for Higher Education of International Students in China (Trial), Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China (moe.gov.cn)
- Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship, China Scholarship Council (Campus China, campuschina.org)
Checked 11 October 2026
This page is an unofficial summary, is not legal or immigration advice, is not published by or affiliated with the bodies named, and the official text and the instructions of the university, embassy or exit-entry office handling your case prevail if they differ.