Recent publications in China, as reported by BBC Monitoring suggests IELTS and TOEFL are becoming relatively more important:
6 November 2014, BBC [http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-29929122]

And finally, some papers are discussing the “credibility” of China’s national English test after top universities in Hong Kong recently refused to recognise the system.

According to the Southern Metropolis Daily and the Beijing News, University of Hong Kong and Chinese University of Hong Kong have announced that they will not accept the scores of the mainland’s College English Test (CET) for admissions.

Instead, they have asked applicants to submit scores of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).

Reflecting on the decision, an article in the Henan Business Dailycriticises the mainland English language education for its emphasis on memorising grammar rules and vocabulary, but not on practicality.

“Some students have obtained high marks in the test, but they are not able to communicate fluently and are ‘deaf’ (when it comes to listening skills)…,” it says.

BBC Monitoring reports and analyses news from TV, radio, web and print media around the world. For more reports from BBC Monitoring,click here. You can follow BBC Monitoring on Twitter and Facebook.