International higher education as knowledge diplomacy: The role of Chinese universities in China’s belt and road initiative

As an important player in China’s international relations, Chinese universities have been actively involved in China’s international development projects along China’s “Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)” routes. In this study, three Chinese universities are invited to share their collaborative education projects with three developing regions of the world: Central Asia, South East Asia and Africa. Using knowledge diplomacy as a theoretical lens to examine the three cases, this study aims to describe and evaluate the role of Chinese universities in the BRI programs in meeting the urgent talent needs of key infrastructure and energy industries in the global south. Through these three cases, the study also aims to shed light on China’s economic goals in international education that are currently absent in policy documents and academic literature.