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Proof of English for an English-taught MBBS in China: what Article 20 asks for

Sources checked · Unofficial summary

Article 20 of the Ministry of Education's interim provisions on English-taught undergraduate medical education asks applicants for relatively strong English-language ability. Students from countries whose mother tongue is not English must also provide either proof of English-language study throughout primary and secondary school, or proof of an English proficiency test. Article 20 names no test and no score.

This page is a guide from MBBS in China Register, an unofficial register of medical schools. For this register's admission pages, see this register's section page. The page sets out two Chinese Ministry of Education texts. The English wording is this site's translation of the Chinese text. The page does not describe any home-country regulator's rule.

Section 1.2 of the 2018 quality standards says that a university shall clearly specify, in its entry standards for international students, the foreign-language ability required for a programme taught in a foreign language. Section 1.2 names no test and no score.

What Article 20 says

Article 20 is in the Interim Provisions on Quality Control Standards for Undergraduate Medical Education in English for International Students, annex 1 to 教外来〔2007〕39号, published by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China. The English part of Article 20 sets these conditions for foreign citizens who apply to study undergraduate medicine taught in English in China:

  • relatively strong English-language ability (较强的英语语言能力);
  • for students from countries whose mother tongue is not English, proof of English-language study throughout primary and secondary school, or proof of an English proficiency test (英语能力考试的证明).

Article 20 links the two proofs with 或, which means "or". Article 20 says the student must provide one of them. It does not say that both are required.

Article 20 names no test and no score.

What section 1.2 of the 2018 standards says

The Quality Standards for the Higher Education of International Students in China (Trial) (来华留学生高等教育质量规范（试行）) were issued by Ministry of Education notice 教外〔2018〕50号, dated 3 September 2018. The standards are trial standards. They are addressed to higher education institutions.

Section 1.2 is headed 语言能力要求 (language ability requirements). It has two sentences. In this page's reading:

  • For a discipline or programme taught in Chinese, the Chinese-language requirement at entry shall be at least level 4 of the International Chinese Proficiency Standards (《国际汉语能力标准》).
  • For a discipline or programme taught in a foreign language, the university shall clearly specify the foreign-language ability required in its entry standards for international students.

Section 1.2 uses the phrase "foreign language". It does not name English, a test or a score.

Reading the two texts

Article 20 sets conditions for applicants. Section 1.2 sets what each university shall write into its entry standards. The two texts have different dates and different subjects.

If a reader wants the foreign-language ability that a particular university requires, section 1.2 says that the university states it in its entry standards. Read that university's entry standards directly.

Questions people ask

Does Article 20 name an English test or a minimum score?

No. Article 20 names no English test and no score. It says that students from countries whose mother tongue is not English must provide proof of English-language study throughout primary and secondary school, or proof of an English proficiency test.

Does section 1.2 set an English score?

No. Section 1.2 names no English score and no English test. For a programme taught in a foreign language, it says that the university shall clearly specify the foreign-language ability required in its entry standards for international students.

Who writes the foreign-language requirement for a programme?

Under section 1.2, the university writes the required foreign-language ability into its entry standards for international students.

Sources

Checked 11 October 2026.

This page is an unofficial summary, is not legal, medical or professional-licensing advice, is not published by the bodies named, and promises no admission, examination or registration outcome; if the official text or the regulator's own instructions differ from this page, the official text and the regulator's own instructions prevail.

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