Abstract:

Focusing on the opportunities and challenges of the internationalization of Chinese higher education in the restructuring of the global order, this written discussion examines Sino-foreign cooperative education, the management of international students in China, and the geopolitical implications of cross-border education. Sino-foreign cooperative education has contributed to introducing high-quality resources and advancing talent internationalization, but faces challenges including weak quality assurance, uneven regional distribution, and limited alignment with industry, requiring a quality-first approach and institutional innovation. Cross-national comparison highlights international practices in “convergent” management: the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada have largely achieved convergence; France and Germany enhance attractiveness through differentiated tuition and scholarships; while Japan and South Korea expand enrolment through policy incentives and local coordination. China still needs to strengthen policy implementation and support services. Geopolitical shifts have generated challenges at national, institutional, and individual levels, including cooperation uncertainty, sovereignty pressures, and risks to student rights. Cross-border education should shift from scale expansion to quality enhancement and move toward endogenous development. Overall, balancing openness and security, scale and quality, and inflows and outflows is essential to seize opportunities and address challenges.

Key words: Sino-foreign cooperative education, international students in China, cross-border education, internationalization of higher education