The ASEAN student population at the three universities has risen from about 300 in 2003 to nearly 5,000 and is expected to reach about 10,000 in three years.

They study Chinese language for the first year to pass the HSK test, China's official test of standard Chinese-language proficiency for non-native speakers.

They then start to study their majors for degrees, with Chinese language and literature, business, management and tourism being the most popular.

Rattaporn Panmanee, a 22-year-old from Thailand studying for her master's degree in Chinese language and literature at Guangxi University, said she would like to return to Thailand and work as a Chinese-language teacher.

"Chinese is the most popular foreign language in Thailand now. I have more advantages than Chinese teachers from the Confucius School in Thailand, because I am fluent in some local languages."

His classmate, Vo Thi Kim Oanh, a 20-year-old from Nghe An in Vietnam, comes from a business family.

"Chinese is the most popular foreign language in my hometown. I would like to sell Chinese clothes to Vietnam and sell shoes made in Vietnam to China," she said.

Lyu Xia, a 35-year-old teacher of business Chinese with the International Education School of Guangxi University, came to Guangxi in 2003 and is impressed with these students.

"The ASEAN students are becoming increasingly hardworking. Most of them have a clear target for doing business in bilateral trade, with some of them coming from business families," she said.

Wang Cheng, director of the international student section at Guangxi University, said the students' education in China gives them a big advantage.

"Most students from ASEAN countries go back to their own countries and play active roles in promoting mutual understanding and bilateral trade. They learn Chinese language, culture and business and make Chinese friends in China, which gives them a great advantage in doing business with China at home."