A survey by the University and College Admissions System, a company that provides services to overseas students hoping to attend a Chinese college or university, showed that the difficulty of learning Chinese is driving the need for courses taught in English.

However, by 2014, just 15 percent of Chinese universities that recruit international students were providing courses in English, according to the survey.

Zheng Tianying, the company's CEO, said the growing number of courses taught in English, particularly at undergraduate level, is becoming an irresistible trend for China's universities. Despite that, the reality is that most Chinese universities are lagging far behind the trend, which limits the number of international students prepared to study in the country, he said.

Mutual recognition

According to Wang Huiyao, president and founder of the Center for China and Globalization, a think tank in Beijing, the language barrier and poor teaching are not the only problems facing prospective international students in China. Many are also dissuaded by the difficulties of transferring academics credits between countries and also by the obstacles they face to verify their qualifications outside China.

"If your home country doesn't recognize the credits or academic degrees you obtained in China, then in most cases, you wouldn't be willing to come to study in China, right?" Wang said.

By late last year, 43 countries had signed agreements with China to simplify academic credit transfers and provide mutual verification of qualifications.