Student accommodation could be built in Barnsley to encourage Chinese students to live in the town.
Owen Gleadall, president of the Barnsley chamber of commerce, said the accommodation could be used by students studying at Barnsley College, or at universities in Leeds and Sheffield.
"We've got links with China through education, so they know the capabilities of Barnsley's education system. Barnsley College is already delivering A level courses in Chengdu (a college in China).
"It is a lot cheaper to live in Barnsley than in Leeds and Sheffield. There are 5,000 Chinese students in Sheffield. If we had accommodation near the interchange, it only takes 20 minutes to get to Leeds or Sheffield. Students could live in Barnsley for half the price, spend money in the town and still only be 20 minutes away from their universities."
Owen said the current sixth form college building on Eastgate would be ideal - once the college had relocated to Shambles Street - because it was only a short walk from the interchange.
Owen said other sites had been identified including an area at the back of the Digital Media Centre and the old TEC building, off Eldon Street, but said the TEC building may be difficult to convert.
"We would build it on Christian principles, so they would trust it. We need to create some kind of confidence and build a genuine Chinese community and build it up from there."
