Chinese universities’ motivations in transnational higher education and their implications for higher education marketisation

The market for transnational higher education (TNHE) in China is moving nowadays from a traditional elite student market to a mass student market. Moreover, the number of Chinese universities engaged in TNHE partnerships with foreign universities is increasing day by day. This chapter provides a preliminary investigation of the motivations of Chinese universities in TNHE through in-depth interviews with Chinese universities’ staff. This chapter finds that the motivations of Chinese universities in TNHE depend on the types of students recruited or types of degree awarded and the types of the university. This chapter also finds that responding to the TNHE market’s needs has become a popular motivator for a big majority of the universities. The chapter concludes that Chinese universities’ motivations in TNHE reflect the needs of Chinese universities in becoming market oriented.