China's engagement with Southeast Asia in higher education

Abstract

This chapter aims to elucidate the current situation of China's periphery diplomacy via the prism of its higher education engagement with Southeast Asia, including student mobility, language training, educational development aid, and institution/program partnerships. China's international student scholarships have always been packaged with its changing neighborhood diplomacy in Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, Confucius Institutes usually serve as a local diplomat through offering language training to local officials. Recently, China's development model has been embedded into its flagship higher education aid projects. Following the guideline of “bridgehead” foreign policy, institution/program partnerships initiated by borderland universities in southwestern China often act as alliance maker.