China is the world's biggest exporter and one of its most contentious exports of late is students.
Every year it is estimated that more than 700,000 Chinese people leave their country to study abroad. And many of these end up in the UK, learning at British universities.
There are about 144,000 in Britain according to the Higher Education Statistics Authority, a number that is up 50% in just five years. As the flows of Chinese students into the UK have grown in recent decades there's been growing scrutiny of their impact.
The chair of the House of Commons foreign affairs select committee, Tom Tugendhat, last year argued that the increasing financial reliance of UK universities on the tuition fees of Chinese students, some with hardline nationalist views, could compromise the academic freedom of these institutions. Another growing theme is that so-called Crazy Rich Asians - the sons and daughters of rich Chinese industrialists - are swamping campuses and crowding out domestic British students.
Yet there's been rather less focus on the views and attitudes of these Chinese students themselves. Glasgow is a popular destination for Chinese overseas students, with more than 6,000 studying on its campus, according to the university's authoritie
The majority had never left China before they arrived and experienced a culture shock on arrival. The initial attraction of Glasgow - as well as its solid academic reputation - to many was how the Victorian university buildings looked on the brochures, rather like Hogwarts from the Harry Potter films
Glasgow University said: "As well as language assistance, the university offers international students a host of dedicated services, from practical and academic advice and guidance, to health and wellbeing support, from pre-departure right through to graduation and beyond." As for politics, despite the fear that students are intolerant Communist Party mouthpieces who impose their views on others, what we found more often was a reticence to get involved in political discussions.
One student said she felt uncomfortable because of the nationalist political attitudes of some Chinese students. Yet the point is that there is no typical overseas Chinese student experience - just as there is no typical overseas Chinese student.
