SYDNEY, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- With its open culture and growing economy, China is becoming a popular destination for higher education seekers in Australia.

According to a report by The Sydney Morning Herald on Sunday, there are 5,000 Australians studying in Chinese universities, up by 83 percent compared with the figure in 2011.

The number of Australian students studying in China has kept growing in recent years, the report said, attributing the change to China's open society and healthy economy.

"Local Chinese companies are rising, they are becoming more and more competitive. Economic growth, a more service-orientated economy, a more technology-focused economy have all contributed," Li Haitao, the associated dean of the MBA Program at Beijing's Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business, was quoted as saying.

Attending a seminar on preparing business leaders for "China's Century" in Sydney on Thursday, Li said, "Higher education, and in particular postgraduate study, is one of the most important pipelines into China and its economy."

Though the number of Australian students in China is increasing, it pales comparing with that of Chinese students heading to Australia and non-Australian international students in China.

According to the Chinese Education Ministry, Chinese universities have an enrolment of 184,799 international students in 2015, surging 12.41 percent from 2014.

In 2015, students from Korea, the United States and Thailand ranked the three biggest groups in China, while the Chinese capital city of Beijing, the bustling metropolis of Shanghai and Zhejiang province in eastern China are the top three destinations of foreign students, showed Chinese official data.

China now has 2,800 higher educational institutions, the second biggest number in the world. Aiming to attract up to 500,000 foreign students in 2020, China keeps increasing its educational input in recent years.