Internationalization of Higher Education, China

Internationalization has been a survival tool since China started its modernization of higher education in the nineteenth century. It becomes more important recently when the international dimension and positioning of higher education assume global significance. The meanings and forms of China’s internationalization of higher education compare sharply with those of Western societies. Unlike most Western higher education systems that badly need to incorporate cultural values other than their own into institutional establishments, China’s priority is to integrate Western values with its traditions. The process of internationalizing higher education has been shot through with intense ideological and cultural conflicts.

Historical Development

China’s internationalization of higher education started when its oldest modern university was founded in 1893 as a “Self-Strengthening Institute” with European advice (Yang 2002). Chinese universities have since accepted the cultural values...