At least 80 percent of the more than 25,000 Chinese applicants have got US student visa this year, and the number of applications from Chinese students will likely rise to over 29,000, said William S. Laidlaw, deputy manager of the consular section and manager of the non-immigration unit with the US Guangzhou Consulate, on Dec. 29.

Mr. Laidlaw told the press that the US government attaches great importance to Chinese nationals' interest in traveling to the US and would like to encourage trips to the US for study, tourism, and business by Chinese students and other groups.

More than 409,000 Chinese citizens have applied for US visas this year and over three quarters of them are successful. The number of Chinese applicants may increase to 450,000 in 2006

Chinese students make up the largest number of international students in the US. More than 95,000 Chinese students, according to statistics from the Institute of International Education (IIE), are studying or making research at various institutions in the US, from secondary schools to the most prestigious research centers.