Asserting Global Leadership in Higher Education: Governance with Strong Government in China

In the last few decades, China has recorded unprecedented growth in higher education (HE) in terms of enrolment (system capacity) and enrolment rate (enrolment relative to age cohort). In light of Trow’s definition of three-stage HE development (Trow 1973), China’s HE system has experienced a transformation from an elite to a mass form within a short period. The growing opportunities in HE may improve the employability of the population and life chances. However, the same process has also created challenges for the continued development of HE, particularly when such a rapid expansion outstrips the ability of higher education institutions (HEIs) to maintain the quality of their teaching. Set against the policy context of Chinese HE’s experience of the process of massification, this chapter examines critically the strategies adopted by the Chinese government to assert its global leadership in HE. With particular reference to changes in university governance, this chapter focuses on the major measures that the Chinese government has adopted in order to (a) develop a “world-class university” and (b) recruit/attract overseas talent for employment in the country. The discussion begins with the transformation of governance strategies of universities management in the context of intensified global competition, followed by an examination of major schemes for building world-class universities and attracting global talent to assert global leadership in HE. The final part of the chapter discusses the changes in university governance and implications for educational development as well as the strategies/measures recently adopted by the Chinese government to transform its universities.