What are the Objectives of Chinese Higher Education in Relation to the New Silk Road Initiative?

Abstract

This chapter explores the objectives and goals of Chinese higher education in relation to the New Silk Road (NSR). It uses literature, policy documents, reports, national statistics, and case studies to identify these objectives and consider progress in implementing the NSR plan. Pursuing soft power by exporting China’s higher education practices is integral to the NSR strategy but it is not yet clear whether and to what extent China’s higher education objectives are understood and accepted in the NSR countries. The NSR countries will not fully accept China’s objectives unless China’s approach is adapted and responsive to social contexts, national identities, and traditions and values of higher education in those countries. However, at this stage China has not exported fundamental features of its higher education such as political and academic standards, national-level compulsory programs, and institutional governance, focusing rather on exchange activities in language, culture, professional, and vocational education.

International student education in China: An “Island” in Internationalization?

“…University reputation, diplomacy, and soft power are the most prominent rationales behind ISE (Gao & Liu, 2020; Haugen, 2013; Wen & Hu, 2019; Wu, 2019). However, Huang (2020) pointed out that the soft power projection of China’s ISE has been unsuccessful because it has been unable to export good practices in specialized undergraduate education and quality assurance to BRI countries. Chinese universities, particularly research universities, aim to perform well on proxy indicators such as publications in English and international student and faculty numbers to improve their rankings (Wen & Cui, 2020), and are rewarded by the strong state that is, the central government of China for good performance on internationalization indicators in rankings and other evaluations (Zha et al, 2019).…”

Silk Sericin: A Promising Sustainable Biomaterial for Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Applications

“…The sericin binds and coats the two fibroin filaments in the raw silk. Although it is known that the textile industry has been using silk for more than 5000 years [2], there is evidence that humans were using silk as early as 8500 years ago [3]. In the textile industry, sericin is removed from the raw silk (degumming process), rendering a much finer silk fiber with a better luster and texture, which is used to make yarns and fabrics [4].…”

Narrating the Belt and Road Education Policy: A Critical Policy Discourse Analysis

“…The acculturation of these students has also attracted researchers’ attention (Yuan et al, 2021 ). In response to the central government’s call for support, some leading Chinese universities have created new colleges and degree programs, such as the Silk Road School of Renmin University or Tsinghua University’s Master of Public Administration, to train students from B&R countries for future leadership roles (Huang, 2020 , 373). The fact that collaboration between leading Chinese and European research universities has been hardly studied shows that BRI strategy is predominantly about recruiting outstanding students from B&R countries for these so-called foremost Chinese universities (Tian and Liu, 2020 , 324).…”

“…Since 2015, the number of alliances between Chinese universities and universities in B&R countries has risen sharply, such as with the University Alliance of the Silk Road, which has more than 130 members from five continents (Huang, 2019 ). In addition to non-governmental education cooperation platforms, China reached an agreement for mutual recognition of academic qualifications with 24 B&R countries by 2019 (Huang, 2020 , 370). Following in the footsteps of Western universities, some Chinese universities have begun embarking on transnational education projects for education soft power, such as Xiamen University’s Malaysian branch campus and Yunnan Finance and Economic University’s Bangkok Campus.…”

“…Although China initiates and leads these education initiatives, other participating countries possess the agency to strategize for their own interest. Lee et al ( 2021 , 237) argue, “Kazakhstan’s engagement with the BRI operates with a utilitarian logic that seeks revenue generation, links with industry, and opportunities for students in employment and further education.” This brief review demonstrates that empirical research on BRI higher education is conducted in the following main areas: education cooperation and policy coordination, academic exchange platforms, promotion of Chinese education, language and culture, and establishment of a framework for mutual recognition of academic qualifications (Huang, 2020 , 370–371).…”