China Approves 46 New TNE Partnerships in Major Higher Education Expansion

By Ezra September 15, 2025
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China’s Ministry of Education has approved 46 new transnational education (TNE) partnerships as the country looks to expand enrolments from 800,000 to eight million over the coming decade.

The latest approvals include 16 Sino-international educational institutions and 30 collaborative post-secondary programmes, reflecting Beijing’s ambition to diversify its international education links. While partnerships with Anglophone countries such as the UK, the US, and Australia remain central, the inclusion of Germany, France, and Russia highlights a multipolar approach to internationalisation.

“This strategy points to China’s focus on leveraging perceived strengths from different countries, such as fashion design programmes with France, musicology with Russia, and vocationally focused programmes with German institutions,” explained David Weeks, COO of Sunrise International.

The new round of approvals follows the 113 partnerships cleared in May 2025, the first major batch since 2022. Charles Sun, founder of China Education International, noted that while no timeframe has been given for achieving eight million enrolments, the target will likely take at least a decade to realise.

UK universities emerged as the largest partner group in the latest approvals, with six joint institutions and three new programmes. Russia followed with two institutions and six joint programmes. Programmes span high-demand disciplines including artificial intelligence, robotics, digital media, big data, petroleum engineering, health sciences, and the arts.

Experts suggest the expansion is being driven by domestic demand, with rising costs of overseas study prompting more students to seek international curricula at home. Grace Zhu, China branch director at Bonard, said: “Many students want to gain international education experience while minimising the cost of studying abroad.”

China’s Ministry of Education has emphasised that new TNE institutions must reinforce party-building, embed ideological education, and allocate at least one-third of resources domestically. The approval also signals a nationwide push, with partnerships spread across multiple provinces beyond traditional hubs such as Beijing and Shanghai.

With youth unemployment nearing 18% in July, China sees the expansion of TNE as a way to strengthen its talent pipeline while enhancing its role as a global education hub.

Source: THE PIE NEWS

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