Fostering cultural affinity through higher education? An ecological analysis of international students’ experiences under the “Belt and Road Initiative” in China

With the implementation of the Belt and Road (B&R) Initiative, China has deepened economic and cultural exchanges and dialogue with the countries along the Belt and Road Initiative route, which has a direct influence on a significant increase in the number of international students in China. Thus, it has become an urgent need for colleges and universities in China to solve the problem of cultivating international students. The huge difference in cultural background, ideology and language between Chinese students and international students, and even among the international students is an important obstacle to the education of international students. In this paper, 160 international students from countries along the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) route admitted by a Chinese university are selected as the objects to explore the cross-cultural adaptation difficulty confronted by international students. Additionally, this paper aims to put forward several measures in a bid to continuously improve the cross-cultural adaptation of international students and thus promote our economic and cultural exchanges with foreign countries. The B&R Initiative is a kind of global view that China puts forward beyond national and ideological barriers to conform to the historical development trend of human society. It is the inevitable by-product of economic globalization. With the deepening of the B&R initiative, China has deepened its economic and cultural exchanges with the countries along the Belt and Road initiative route, which has led to a significant increase in the number of international students in China. The Annual Report on the Development of Chinese Students Studying Abroad (2017) showed that among the top 15 countries from which international students in China came, most countries were those along the BRI route, among which Thailand, India, Pakistan, Laos, etc., showed a significant increase in the number of overseas students studying in China. This indicates the Initiative’s big role in promoting China's educational cooperation with the countries along the BRI route. However, different language systems, education systems, talent cultivation systems and other barriers have caused an obvious cross-cultural adaptation of international students in China. To this end, this paper aims at promoting international students to better adapt to China's education mode, by exploring the cross-cultural adaptation of international students from countries along the BRI route.

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), sometimes referred to as the “New Silk Road”, is one of the most significant projects ever to be carried out. Introduced by President Xi Jinping in 2013, the wide range of development and investment from East Asia to Europe, and Africa. BRI provides support for the education of international students in China. The countries along the Belt and Road ("Belt and Road Countries") have different endowments in resources and complementary economies and there is great potential for linkages and common development between them. China will strengthen cooperation with Belt and Road countries by strengthening cooperation on policies, infrastructure, trade, and finance and people-to-people connectivity with them.China has a rich and deep historical and cultural heritage, unique academic cultural traditions and a social custom of great respect for teachers and teaching; in such a favorable policy, China will attract even more foreign students. More foreign students will not only help "spread the word" about China's rich and profound culture, but also promote colleges and universities and improve the use of the Belt and Road as a platform through which the culture of messengers and international talents can better understand and appreciate its culture. However, there is still a deep gap between the demands and availability, mainly due to the quality of communication. This study expands the main problems in the cultivation of international students by identifying the kind of cultural exchange needed for The Belt and Road construction, and then makes suggestions to improve the quality of cultural exchange in terms of Belt and Road Initiative. Keywords: Cultivation Strategy; Chinese universities; international students; The Belt and Road Initiative DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/13-20-15 Publication date: October 31 st 2021

China is fast becoming a coveted destination and a hub for higher education among international students, particularly since the announcement of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in September 2013. Consequently, China’s higher-education institutions are seeking ways to make international students’ educational experience more consistent with their expectations. Nonetheless, instructional communication—that is, communication for the purpose of engaging students academically while reducing problematic misunderstandings in the classroom—is a bane of the educational experience of international students in China. Therefore, this article extends instructional communication and intercultural sensitivity models to pedagogical, learner-centered contexts in an attempt to develop an integrated conceptual framework on sustaining international student–Chinese faculty interactions in the classroom. That framework has three key constructs: (a) the faculty’s classroom behaviors and international students’ characteristics, (b) international students’ instructional beliefs, and (c) learning outcomes. They will serve as the basis for positioning instructional practices in responding more appropriately to enhancing the experience of international students as global learners and toward deepening and sustaining the internationalization of China’s higher-education institutions, specifically within the context of BRI.

In recent years, with the advancement of the Belt and Road initiative (BRI) there has been an increasing number of students from participating countries coming to China for study and exchange. This trend provides a practical pathway for global cooperation in transcultural communication research. Social media has emerged as a crucial platform for the collaborative development of the BRI and as a primary channel for understanding China in the context of transcultural communication. Thus, investigating how social media facilitates transcultural communication within the BRI framework is a key area of current research. International students often face challenges in adapting to new environments during their transcultural communication process. Understanding how these students in China manage adaptation stress, comprehend the BRI policies for mutual development, and improve their adjustment to Chinese society are urgent questions in transcultural communication research. Social media offers a multifaceted platform for communication that can help alleviate these adaptation challenges. However, existing research predominantly emphasises the potential of social media in aiding the adaptability of international students, lacking a comprehensive explanation of how it alleviates stress and promotes gradual adaptation. Therefore, this study aims to critically analyse relevant empirical research, theoretical frameworks, and conceptual models to address this gap. The research findings offer general conclusions regarding the adaptation of international students using social media in the process of transcultural communication, further providing a theoretical basis for the adaptation of students from BRI countries to China. Through the research findings, it is observed that international students may predominantly use social media to escape the adaptation stress of a new environment rather than genuinely alleviate stress and better adapt to the local society. Additionally, students from different countries exhibit varying attitudes towards using social media to cope with stress, warranting further investigation. This research contributes to understanding the genuine adaptation of students from BRI countries in the process of transcultural communication in China, promoting mutual cultural cooperation and shared development.

[ ]it is timely to reflect on how we view and conceptualize the way we engage and work with international students Conceptualize Student Connection Through Formal and Informal Curriculum Dis/connection has been argued to play "an important role in shaping international students' wellbeing, performance and life trajectories" (Tran & Gomes, 2017, p 1) [ ]it is important to frame international student connectedness not only within the context of formal teaching and learning on campus, but also in a broader setting, taking into account the dynamic, diverse, and fluid features of transnational mobility [ ]effective teaching of and engagement with international students is based on understanding not only their academic needs but also other aspects that are interlinked with their academic performance, including pastoral care needs, mental health, employment, accommodation, finance, life plans, and aspirations [ ]a sense of belonging to the content of teaching and learning and the pedagogy used by teachers is essential to international students' engagement with the classroom community

Commentary: COVID‐19 Pandemic and Higher Education: International Mobility and Students’ Social Protection

Drawing upon qualitative research conducted at Xiamen University (XMU) and its overseas campus, Xiamen University Malaysia (XMUM), this article provides an analysis of transnational education as a component of the soft infrastructure of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). We examine XMUM within wider geopolitical and cultural diplomacy in Asia and as a transnational site in/through which new regional imaginaries, affinities and subjectivities are produced and contested. We highlight the role of historical and cultural affinity—as well as its omission/disruption—in giving shape to XMUM, the limited extent to which mainland Chinese students perform their role as cultural ambassadors, and the multiple imaginative post‐study geographies of international and local students that simultaneously centre and decentre China. In doing so, we contend that students' narratives/practices reinforce but also present alternatives to the imaginaries, affinities and subjectivities that Chinese transnational education institutes such as XMU and XMUM seek to produce through the vehicle of the BRI.

With the growing trend of globalisation and the internationalisation of higher education, China actively recruits more international students to study at Chinese universities. Notably, international doctoral students are a significant cohort in this trend. Although many studies have investigated international students’ learning experiences in China, few have explored their motivations to pursue doctoral degrees in China. To fill this gap, through the push–pull model, we explored the motivation of 55 international doctoral students from three Chinese universities. The findings show that various national, institutional, and individual factors comprehensively influenced their choice to pursue doctoral studies in Chinese universities. Their experiences also reflect that China is progressively establishing a systematic mechanism to attract international doctoral students by taking advantage of economic development and Chinese academic returnees. While these advantages attract international doctoral students to study in China, Chinese universities may still play an alternative role in international doctoral education. This study contributes to international higher education and doctoral education. Implications and suggestions for future studies are discussed.

China’s engagement with the world has been evolving to reflect its various economic developments, and although China’s economic progress since 2010 may not be a shock to many, its recent dramatic re-emergence at the centre of global politics has thrown familiar issues into a sharp relief. One such issue is the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which has been of key interest to policy makers, and which, since 2015, has expanded immensely to link China with Asia, Europe and Africa, boosting trade, development and cultural exchange throughout a broad infrastructure network. This paper presents the findings of a study that was designed to examine the implications of Chinese foreign policy on the perceptions of BRI among foreign students of the East China Normal University in Shanghai, China. The findings of the study reveal that the foreign students’ perceptions of BRI are influenced by how Chinese foreign policy is and was perceived in their respective home countries, and that the experience of living in China had little or no impact in changing their established perceptions. Based on these findings, the study concludes that, the future implementation of BRI will be highly influenced by the existing Chinese diplomatic relations, and as such recommends the consolidation and expansion of China’s existing diplomatic relations if it desires a smoother and better adoption of the BRI in other countries.

Aim/Purpose: This study aimed to explore the challenges faced by international doctoral students in Chinese universities and find out what international doctoral students perceive to be effective supervision. Background: As higher education internationalization is proliferating, there is a need for adjustment in every educational system. Despite the rise in the internationalization of higher education in China, very little research has been carried out on internalization at the doctoral level. Since research forms an essential part of doctoral programs, it is necessary to examine the challenges international students face as far as research supervision is concerned. Methodology: This study employed the exploratory case study research design adopting the qualitative research methodology. The study participants were 68 doctoral students from two comprehensive universities in China. A comprehensive university consists of diverse programs and students: for example, master’s programs, doctoral programs, undergraduate programs, and professional programs. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview guide. The qualitative data collected was analyzed thematically. Contribution: This study offers new insights into the research supervision of international doctoral students. This study suggests that every university hosting international students should pay attention to doctoral students’ research supervision and implement appropriate strategies such as those proposed in this study to allow international students to acquire new knowledge and skills as far as research is concerned. This study also proposed some strategies based on what doctoral students perceive to be effective supervision that universities can implement to improve research supervision. Findings: The study found that international doctoral students faced many challenges regarding research supervision. These challenges are language barriers, ineffective communication with supervisors, insufficient time to discuss with supervisors, cultural differences and adapting to a new environment, depression, and forcing students to change research topics. Moreover, this study found that the following strategies can be implemented to improve research supervision of international students: considering student’s research interests when assigning them to supervisors, the need for a specific time to meet with supervisors, providing or directing students where to get research materials, in-service training for research supervisors, and evaluating and modifying criteria for selecting supervisors. Recommendations for Practitioners: University administrators can establish informal research supervision learning communities that can enable supervisors from different universities to share cross-cultural supervision ideas and learn from one another. Moreover, it is necessary for supervisors to guide and direct students both in academics and social life to help them overcome depression; isolation, and adapt to a new environment. Recommendation for Researchers: This study was limited to two universities, and the participants were international doctoral students in English-taught programs. However, the situation may differ with international doctoral students in Chinese-taught programs. As a result, the researchers suggest that another study should be carried out focusing on international doctoral students in Chinese taught programs; their experiences may differ. Impact on Society: Doctoral students are significant contributors to the research productivity of an institution. It is, therefore, necessary to ensure that they acquire sustainable research skills to solve the complex problems affecting the education sector and society at large. Future Research: It is vital to explore international doctoral supervision in other disciplines as well as universities.

This chapter examines trends in international student enrollments in the Canadian community college sector over the past decade. We first provide an overview of the Canadian community college sector and its longstanding mandate of training students for local labor markets. We then discuss how federal, provincial, and institutional authorities have all supported increasing international student enrollments for primarily economic rationales. Next, we draw on data from Statistics Canada to examine recent trends in international student enrollments in the community college sector. We point to three major trends: (1) the unprecedented growth of international student enrollments in the college sector; (2) an increasing proportion of international college students from India; and (3) a high concentration of international college students in only two provinces, namely Ontario and British Columbia. We argue that these trends raise important policy questions for the sector's traditional mandate of local labor market preparation, while also having important implications for how college leaders and student affairs professionals meet the needs of their students. Such questions include: how to provide needed academic and social supports for international students and how to best facilitate international students' pathways to the labor market, university study, and immigration.

(2021) Volume 2, Issue 4 Cultural Implications of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC Authors: Dr. Unsa Jamshed Amar Jahangir Anbrin Khawaja Abstract: This study is an attempt to highlight the cultural implication of CPEC on Pak-China relations, how it will align two nations culturally, and what steps were taken by the governments of two states to bring the people closer.

The past decade has witnessed an unprecedented transformation of China into an important “receiving” nation for international student mobility (ISM), underscored by the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)-tied African countries becoming the main import markets. The emerging China-bound ISM, driven by contextually-specific motivations, necessitates a re-theorisation of the Western-centric, neo-liberal-driven push–pull model within the broader context of multipolarity in higher education. Through semi-structured in-depth interviews with eight international students from BRI African countries pursuing postgraduate programmes in Beijing, this micro study explores the dynamic macro–micro interface of push and pull factors. These narratives of how the push (e.g. the under-developed higher education system in the home country) and pull factors (i.e. host nation’s financial support for international students, economic and political links between the home and host countries, and host nation’s exponential growth) intersected with individuals’ desire, reflect the multipolar shifts in global higher education landscapes. By extending the macro-focused push–pull model to incorporate these complexities, this study echoes the need to recognise contemporary multipolarity when explaining ISM in diverse contexts.

Amid internationalizing shifts in higher education, universities around the world are simultaneously becoming more integrated and more disparate. This paper examines the role of immigration policy in producing convergent and divergent educational attainment among international and domestic students at Indian and US universities and shows that student and work visas influence international students’ decisions about where to study, what to study, and how much education to pursue. Using original data sources and a transnational data collection strategy, this study develops new approaches to measuring international student mobility and offers a window into transnational phenomena not easily observable in other datasets. An analysis of 7177 education histories and 105 in-depth interviews with international students, university administrators, and immigration lawyers shows that migration policy contributes to the growth of international student enrollment and multinational educations but also creates asymmetrical student flows and funnels international students into certain fields of study. The results of this study indicate that migration policies simultaneously contribute to integration and differentiation between the US and Indian university systems. The findings show that immigration policies play an important role in regulating the flow and nature of international student migration streams and lead to simultaneous convergence and divergence in the educational attainment and field of study between Indian international students enrolled in US universities and their domestically educated peers in India. Through an empirical case, this paper develops a conceptual bridge between two dominant frameworks on internationalization and theorizes the central role of migration policy in shaping processes of higher education internationalization.

We estimate the policy effect of belt and road initiative (BRI) on China's import. We use highly detailed, product‐country level data from China Customs Trade Statistics Database which covers 5364 types of products and 201 economies from 2010 to 2017 to investigate the policy effects and the underlying mechanisms. We find that the BRI has significantly boosted China's imports from countries along the route. The BRI have significant expansion effect on imports of existing products as well as positive effects on imports of new product import and product exit, which means BRI may also contribute to the optimization of product structure and growth in value of China's imports. Moreover, BRI have positive effects on both general trade and processing trade. Mechanism analysis shows that policy coordination, cultural affinity, and maritime transportation connectivity have strong explanatory power on the policy effects of BRI. We also find that the BRI has played a "boosting" role for import boost for new RTA partner as well as non‐RTA members along the route. We further examine the impact of BRI on global bilateral trade, and the result shows that BRI has generally promoted bilateral trade among all countries along the route, not limited to origin‐China pairs.