China's universities go to Southeast Asia: Transnational knowledge transfer, soft power, sharp power
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-1-2022
Abstract
This article examines four Southeast Asian cases of the ``going out'' of China's universities, or what is termed as jingwai banxue in China. It examines their background and rationale, their academic programs and curricula arrangements, and their overall significance to both China and the hosting countries. Three major themes guide this article: transnational knowledge transfer, soft power, and sharp power. The findings suggest that jingwai banxue is a diverse and de-centralized phenomenon, with Beijing playing only a limited role. It shows that the range of transnational knowledge transfer through jingwai banxue varies among different projects. It illustrates that these projects both generate and leverage China's soft power and are intrinsically tied to China's economic importance to the hosting countries. Finally, it argues against the ``sharp power'' interpretation.
Keywords
Transnational knowledge transfer, China, Power
Divisions
china
Funders
Korea Foundation Policy Oriented Project (Grant No: 1024000-101)
Publication Title
China Review-An Interdisciplinary Journal on Greater China
Volume
22
Issue
1
Publisher
CHINESE UNIV PRESS
Publisher Location
CHINESE UNIV HONG KONG, SHA TIN, NEW TERRITORIES, HONG KONG 00000, PEOPLES R CHINA