BEIJING -- The government-sponsored China Scholarship Council said on Oct 30 that it will send 25,000 students abroad next year, 17 percent more than in 2014.

An official with the CSC said the expansion will include up to 8,000 more Chinese graduate and doctorate students.

The official said the CSC have sent 20,400 students abroad in 2014 making a total of 46,000 students in 85 countries supported by the CSC.

The council has established programs with some international organizations. In July it signed an agreement with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to send interns there.

Since 1996, the CSC has sent over 160,000 Chinese students to study abroad, and 98 percent of them have returned home.