About 400 higher education institutes from more than 30 countries and regions will attend the 17th China International Education Exhibition Tour to attract Chinese students.

The tour will be held in seven major Chinese cities from March 10 to 25.

��There were 339,700 Chinese students pursuing study overseas in 2011, a year-on-year increase of 19.32 percent,�� Bai Zhangde, director of Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange, the organizer of the exhibition, said at a news conference in Beijing on Tuesday.

Nearly 90 institutes from the United States will take part in the event.

��China is the largest source country of international students for Australia, with the number of students growing steadily over the past decade,�� said Eliza Chui, education commissioner and North Asia education consul of Australian Trade Commission.

Eric Chevreul, national coordinator of CampusFrance in China, said: ��The French government will provide more scholarship to encourage Chinese students to study in France.