Opinion

Expert commentary and perspectives on the key issues shaping global higher education.

Forbidden City, Beijing, China

China's dual identity of state-backed entities: Market regulator or market competitor?

· By Eleanor Shaw

China's state-backed education bodies increasingly combine regulatory authority with commercial operations, raising questions about competitive neutrality, governance, and whether market oversight should be separated from market participation.

China Great Wall
Policy, International, Admissions, Finance

China expands transnational education to keep students home

· By H. Yang

China approved over 200 new transnational education partnerships in May 2026 as Beijing expands “internationalisation at home” efforts to reduce overseas study costs and retain billions in education spending domestically.

Students Studying in Library Hall
Admissions, International

China’s study abroad curve: from expansion to equilibrium under structural pressure

· By H. Yang

China’s study abroad is shifting from growth to stability. In 2025, outbound students (570,600) stay below the 2019 peak. Drivers include mass domestic higher education (9.922 million admissions), improving university quality, weaker ROI, rising costs, geopolitical friction, and declining demographic pressure expected after the 2034 Gaokao peak.

India Taj Mahal
Policy, International

India’s higher education internationalisation: A new era of opportunities for global institutions

· By H. Yang

India's higher education sector is embracing global collaboration, with top UK universities like Southampton, Liverpool, York, and Aberdeen, alongside Australian institutions like UNSW, Deakin, and Wollongong, setting up campuses. This aligns with NEP 2020, offering Indian students access to world-class education while strengthening international partnerships.

Middle East Map
Governance, International

Education cooperation in a fragmenting geopolitical order

· By H. Yang

International education is entering a more fragmented and politically conditioned era, where cooperation is increasingly shaped by geopolitical rivalry, regional conflicts, and the securitization of domestic higher education systems. The U.S.–China strategic competition, the Russia–Ukraine war, and instability in the Middle East are reshaping global academic networks, while U.S. domestic policies are tightening visa regimes and expanding research security frameworks. Together, these forces are transforming international education from an open system of exchange into a more managed, selective, and risk-sensitive global architecture.

Podium
Governance, Research

China’s answer to JCR is changing—but the system behind it isn’t

· By Eleanor Shaw

China’s domestic journal ranking system—long seen as a counterpart to the Journal Citation Reports—has been withdrawn by its official publisher. But as a new platform emerges from the same team, deeper questions are being asked about credibility, control, and the future of research evaluation.

Globe on Desk
International

Internationalisation may offer a way through the crisis in global higher education

· By H. Yang

As COVID-19 halted student mobility, universities turned to internationalisation not as a strategy of expansion, but as a mechanism for survival—revealing both its untapped potential and its structural limits.