State Influence in Educational Migration: A Comparative Study of State- and Non-State-Funded Chinese Students in Germany

As of 2018, more than 65,000 Chinese students had pursued overseas studies with funding from the Chinese Scholarship Council (CSC). While CSC funding expands access to international education, it also entails contractual obligations that may create tensions between state expectations and individual agency. This study examines whether differences between CSC-funded and non-CSC students align with documented features of the CSC programme, which forms part of China's broader talent and state-building strategy. Drawing on a 2023 survey of 474 Chinese students in Germany, the analysis compares study motivations, future plans, media orientations, and political attitudes across the two groups. The findings show that CSC students report more pronounced nationally oriented attitudes than their non-CSC peers, consistent with programme characteristics. Yet, the results also point to the limits of state influence, shaped by student agency and opportunity structures. Owing to its cross-sectional design, the study cannot distinguish between selection and socialisation mechanisms.