More foreign students than ever before are coming to China, but they're finding it increasingly hard to find jobs in China and get China work visas, according to a report by the SCMP.

The Hong Kong-based newspaper reports that there was 442,000 international students in China last year compared to 52,150 in 2000.

More than half of these students hailed from Asia, with the next biggest group occupied by Africans.

According to a survey by Peking University in 2009, 83% of international students wanted to find work in China after their studies.

A job fair led by the Ministry of Education last year also found the same was true for 95% of foreign students attending.

However, gaining a work permit in China is not so easy.

Last year, only 235,000 foreigners were granted work permits in the Middle Kingdom, crushing the dreams of many thousands of international students.

Eric Liu, a consultant at the Beijing-based Foreign HR recruitment agency said, Many foreign students want to stay in China but they can’t.”

“If a foreigner graduates from a language course or obtains a bachelor’s degree and wishes to stay on and find a job, they can’t obtain the work permit.”

At the start of 2017, the government made allowances for graduates from “excellent universities" to come to China without having gained any work experience.

However, all other graduates must gain at least two years experience in their chosen field before they'll be considered for a work permit.

Read our guide on the latest requirements for China work visas and work permits for more information.

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