Two years ago, when Pakistani student Khola Masood was dazzled by the offers from PhD programs in Japan, Italy, New Zealand and China, she picked China and enrolled at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing to advance her education.

The 25-year-old business management PhD candidate also aspires to learn Chinese, as she sees growing investment and cooperation between the two countries.

"Having Chinese language capabilities can be advantageous when I go back to Pakistan," Masood adds.