BEIJING -- An increasing number of foreign students come to study in Beijing as the capital city continues to open up its education sector and optimize the academic environment.

At present, nearly 110,000 foreign students are studying in Beijing, according to data released Saturday at a forum for the trade in international education services, part of the 2020 China International Fair for Trade in Services that opened on Friday.

According to the forum, Beijing has become one of the major destinations for international students in the Asia-Pacific region.

Meanwhile, Beijing has witnessed increasing international exchanges in education. The Chinese capital has nearly 2,700 schools that have established exchange relations with overseas partners, with more than 5,000 foreign teachers in its education system.

Beijing has become a pivotal force in international education services trade due to the continuous opening up of its education sector, further improvement of its education services and a remarkable increase in market shares in the education services trade, said Zhang Jiaming, the city's deputy mayor, at the forum.