China’s transnational education landscape continues to grow, but it is also changing.
A recent article by Huili Si, published in Studies in Higher Education in August 2026, offers a particularly interesting lens through which to understand this change:
“Geopolitics and governance: a practitioner research approach to transnational higher education in Hainan’s international education hub.”
The article looks at the development of the Hainan International Education Hub and, importantly, explores not only government policy but what actually happens when institutions try to operate within that policy environment.
For me, one of the most useful messages from the research is that we should not think about China TNE simply as either highly regulated or increasingly open.
It can be both at the same time.
Hainan provides a good example.
China continues to have strong national oversight of transnational higher education. However, within that framework, Hainan has been given greater flexibility to experiment with international education, institutional collaboration and new approaches to delivery.
The research describes this as a form of hybrid governance: central direction remains important, but institutions and regional authorities also have space to interpret, negotiate and implement policy locally.
Why does this matter for international universities?
Because entering China is rarely just about finding a university that wants to work with you.
A potential Chinese partner may be very enthusiastic about a programme. But a sustainable TNE partnership also needs to fit with:
- national regulation;
- provincial and local priorities;
- the Chinese institution's own strategy;
- student and employment demand;
- and increasingly, wider economic and regional development priorities.
Hainan demonstrates this particularly clearly.
Its international education development sits alongside the wider Hainan Free Trade Port strategy, talent development and China's international engagement. TNE therefore becomes part of something much bigger than simply importing or delivering an overseas degree.
This is something I think international universities sometimes underestimate.
We often start TNE discussions with questions such as:
What programme should we offer? How many students could we recruit? What will the financial model look like?
These questions are important.
But in China, another question should come much earlier:
Why does this partnership make sense in this particular place, for this particular university, at this particular moment?
The answer may be very different in Hainan, Shanghai, Guangdong, Chongqing or another province.
China is not one TNE market
This is perhaps the wider lesson.
China is a very large higher education system, and opportunities are becoming increasingly differentiated by region.
The strongest partnerships will therefore not necessarily be those that simply find demand for a UK programme.
They will be those that understand the local context, align institutional interests on both sides, remain adaptable as policy evolves, and create a partnership that has a reason to exist beyond student numbers.
Si's research also highlights the importance of institutional agency. Universities and practitioners are not simply passive recipients of government policy; they interpret and adapt to it in practice.
Having worked across UK-China TNE for many years, this particularly resonates with me.
The written agreement is important. The regulatory approval is important.
But much of the success of a partnership comes afterwards: how people interpret the partnership, solve problems, manage expectations and continually adapt the model.
The opportunity remains significant
Hainan is an interesting example of where China may be heading: continued international engagement, but international engagement that is increasingly connected to regional development, talent, industry and national priorities.
For international universities, this does not mean China TNE is becoming less attractive.
It means we need to become more sophisticated in how we approach it.
The question is moving from:
“How do we establish a TNE programme in China?”
towards:
“Where can our institution genuinely contribute, and how can we build something that makes sense for both sides over the long term?”
That is a much better starting point for sustainable TNE.
Further reading:
Si, H. (2026). Geopolitics and governance: a practitioner research approach to transnational higher education in Hainan’s international education hub. Studies in Higher Education. Published online 4 August 2026. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2026.2714436