Transforming from “economic power” to “soft power”: Transnationalization and Internationalization of higher education in China

In recent decades, trade in higher education services has become increasingly popular in Asia. Realizing the importance of higher education and the potential of the education market not only for generating additional national incomes but also for asserting soft power in the highly competitive world, the Chinese government has put serious efforts in developing transnational higher education to diversifying student learning experiences and asserting soft power of China in the highly competitive global environment. This chapter reviews major policies and developments of transnational higher education in mainland China. The chapter also critically examines student-learning experiences after enrolling in transnational higher education programmes. The chapter also critically analyzes how the Chinese government has made attempts to assert its soft power in the context of transforming the country from an economic power to a culturally strong power. Copyright © 2014 Springer.