China and Europe on the New Silk Road

Abstract

This book presents the outcomes of the research project on “The New Silk Road: Implications for higher education and research cooperation between China and Europe.” It addresses questions regarding how academic mobility and cooperation is taking shape along the New Silk Road and what difference it will make in the global higher education landscape. It presents a rich collection of contributions by scholars from Europe, China, the USA, Russia, and Australia, combining perspectives from anthropology, computer sciences, economics, education, history, law, political science, philosophy, science and technology studies, sinology, and sociology. Introductory chapters present the global context for the NSR, the development of Chinese universities along international models, and the history and outcomes of EU–China cooperation. The flows and patterns in academic cooperation along the New Silk Road as they shape and have been shaped by China’s universities are explored in more detail in the following chapters. The conditions for Sino-foreign cooperation are discussed next, with an analysis of regulatory frameworks for cooperation, recognition, data, and privacy. Comparative work follows on the cultural traditions and academic values, similarities and differences between Sinic and Anglo-American political and educational cultures, and their implications for the governance and mission of higher education, the role of critical scholarship, and the state and standing of the humanities in China. The book concludes with contributions focusing on the “Idea of a University”; the values underpinning its mission, shape, and purpose, reflecting on the implications of China’s rapid higher education development for the geo-politics of higher education itself.