But Amber Education's He says applications for studies at UK universities "remains strong" with no evidence that the Brexit decision has had an impact on where students in China want to locate.

Gu Zeqing, a 23-year-old translation studies student from Nantong, Jiangsu province, says he chose Britain partly because of the Brexit result.

"I'm not affected by the Brexit at all," said Gu, who has applied to do a master's program in the UK.

"On the contrary, it even has one benefit for Chinese students as the devalued pound means lower tuition fees."

Lin Ying, general manager of the Britain section at JJL Overseas Education, an overseas-study consultancy in Beijing, says another possible benefit of the Brexit is that a decline in the number of EU applicants to British universities potentially means more places for students from further afield. In the longer term, it could also improve their job prospects, He says.

He says students from the EU who previously enjoyed preferential employment policies in the UK are now "standing on the same starting line" as international students.

"This means that if Chinese students decide to hunt for jobs in Britain after graduation, they will have more opportunities to compete for the posts previously designed for or occupied by graduates from the EU," he said.

Contact the writer at zhaoxinying@chinadaily.com.cn