The number of foreign students in China, especially from countries related to the Belt and Road Initiative, has increased greatly, according to the Ministry of Education.

The ministry posted statistics on its website on Wednesday showing that countries along the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, such as India, Pakistan and Kazakhstan, have further grown as large sources of international students in China.

With 16,694 students in China last year, India, for example, went from the seventh- to fourth-largest source country. Pakistan rose from the eighth- to sixth-largest, with a 17 percent rise in student numbers.