The Process, Drivers and Prospects of Internationalization Development in China’s Higher Vocational Education

Abstract In the era of globalization, high-quality higher vocational education represents an internationally influential and competitive educational model, serving as both an inevitable choice and outcome of higher education modernization. China’s higher vocational education aims to cultivate high-quality technical talent with global perspectives, cross-cultural communication skills, and international competitiveness, actively promoting its internationalization. The internationalization of Chinese vocational education has undergone a strategic transformation from “bringing in” to “going global”, gradually shifting from reliance on external technology input to autonomous output based on domestic industrial advantages, thereby contributing Chinese wisdom and solutions to global vocational education development. This evolution has progressed from technology introduction to standard exportation, and from serving domestic industrial transformation to participating in the restructuring and upgrading of global industrial chains, ultimately forming an internationalization pathway with Chinese characteristics. Such a development model not only balances domestic needs with global progress but also preserves and promotes China’s technical traditions and distinctive features while actively absorbing advanced international higher education experience.