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HEIs (Higher education institutions) in mainland China are making enormous efforts to implement internationalization. As a result, EMI (English-medium instruction) courses are growing rapidly in number and popularity while relevant research is still insufficient in comparison to European countries. Besides, although much existing research has explored students' beliefs and attitudes towards EMI, little is known on whether their beliefs and attitudes may change over time or after the completion of a course, and on whether students' experiences in different EMI courses may differ. This paper specifically reports on students' perspectives towards different EMI disciplinary courses: International Trade, Film Production and Project Management. Pre-post semester student questionnaires are analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. Results show that students were generally positive towards EMI courses but their attitudes changed to worse at the end of the semester. Students in the International Trade course had more positive attitudes than students in the Film Production and Project Management groups. Findings are discussed in relation to classroom teaching practices in the three groups, which were observed three times over the semester. Finally, teaching implications and language policy-related decisions are also considered.

Despite the steady growth in the recruitment and education of MBA students in China, there is a dearth of research on MBA students' perceptions of Business English Writing (BEW) in this context. This paper conducts a qualitative inquiry into Chinese MBA students' perceptions of BEW in English as a foreign language context in China. Forty-four MBA students of a ten-week BEW course participated in this study. An open-ended questionnaire was used near the end of the course to elicit their work-related writing needs, self-reflections on BEW abilities, and perceptions of the BEW course. A focus group was conducted with six students to provide insights into the students' work-related writing experience. The results showed that the students' work-related writing needs differed in terms of their respective job positions, with those working in foreign-funded enterprises or joint ventures having more job-related demands to write in English than those working at state-owned enterprises. Moreover, the students generally regarded their BEW abilities as moderately good or low, with distinct expectations of the BEW course raised. Pedagogic implications were drawn for improving BEW course in the Chinese context.

Business English education concern is of great significance. Business English for International Trade in Guangdong University of Foreign Studies (GDUFS) is widely acclaimed, and it is also a popular major. GDUFS has adopted the slogan "Learn from East and West, moral integrity and direct behavior". It is a famous cradle of learning, where complex and capable persons are educated. Through review and reflection into the findings of the practice of business English in GDUFS and other instructions, this paper is aimed at analyzing the situation of the present curriculum, identifying existing problems such as the misbalance between the English courses and Business courses based on the theory of Needs Analysis, and then make some suggestions to increase the percentage of the Business courses and Business practices. In this way, this paper can serve as a reference for the curriculum construction of Business English for International trade in GDUFS.

Weak effectiveness of bilingual education is an especially obvious phenomenon in non-key universities of China where students have poorer English ground and bilingual curriculums are unconstructive designed partly because of the scarcity of teaching resources. This paper discusses failures of these unconstructive curriculum systems from the view of cognitive learning and points out that just because of the lags in BICS [basic interpersonal communication skills] and CALP [cognitive academic language proficiency] of students in non-key universities, metacognitive process should be substantially considered and completely integrated in construction of bilingual curriculum system including aspects of bilingual allocation, subject design, bilingual arrangement and prepositive training. This paper takes International Business Specialty in non-key universities as an example and highly involves writer's teaching experiences. (Contains 1 figure.)

Projections for the global economy frequently center on the BRIC countries: Brazil, Russia, India, and China. As futurists and economists alike define and re-define both formal and informal coalitions (for example, by broadening the R in BRIC to include all Eastern European economies or instead re-directing the discussion to G-8 countries or to World Trade Organization members), the education profiles of the individual nations sometimes resemble economic indicators: what is imported, what is exported, and what is the potential for expansion. Higher education, and specifically distance learning (the Clicks element of this paper), can already be charted in these terms for some nations. This paper describes the current role of distance learning in countries described as growing economies and proposes a typology for describing change as additional data become available. The paper informs readers of global developments in distance education, using the BRIC nations as examples.(Contains 3 figures, 4 tables, and 13 resources.)

Theoretical ideas about globalization and internationalization of higher education emphasize the tension among different ideologies of higher education. According to literature, a competition among states, economy, knowledge, and status generates this tension to drive higher education development. This theoretical understanding not only shapes our global imaginations but also permeates the organizational behavior of universities. In this paper, we focus on the institutional logics that motivate universities in Kazakhstan to engage with China's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). We investigate the ways that Kazakhstani higher education interprets and responds to China's vision of a global order. Based on interviews conducted at 10 higher education institutions (HEIs) in Kazakhstan, we argue that Kazakhstan's engagement with the BRI circumvents the cultural connectivity and global cooperation that are embraced by Chinese policy discourse and perpetuated by academic literature. Rather, institutional leaders in Kazakhstan operate with a utilitarian logic that seeks revenue generation, links with industry, and opportunities for students in employment and further education. The pursuit of these strategic outcomes demonstrates a bilateral engagement with China rather than the multilateral cooperation envisioned by policymakers. In a higher education system dominated by the state, the institutions in our study exhibit partial agency to accrue pragmatic benefits rather than concede to isomorphic pressures or mimic internationalization from neoliberal contexts. The discrepancy between policy discourse from China and policy reception in Kazakhstan raises questions about the rhetoric of a multipolar global order and the realities of international cooperation in higher education.

The rise of Brazil, Russia, India, and China will shape global resource use, the location of market demand and international institutions and interdependencies in the decade to come. In this paper we argue that an understanding of the historical and institutional context of the BRICs, and the potential shift towards a multi-polar world is important for developing curricula and content in international business courses in the future. Implications for international business theory and teaching are discussed. (Contains 4 tables.)

Accommodating to the development of globalization, China witnesses a mounting demand for international business talents who are proficient in both foreign languages and business knowledge and adept at international cooperation and competition in business context. In order to meet this need, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, taking advantage of its resources in foreign languages and outstanding professional teachers, made a breakthrough in multidisciplinary teaching reform and took initiative to set up the program of International Business Innovation Class in autumn, 2010. In July 2014, it has delivered its first batch of graduates. Hence, it is of great significance to conduct relevant investigations on the teaching mode and practice timely so as to obtain data for assessing its teaching effectiveness and students' satisfaction. Based on empirical study, this paper evaluates three factors: learners' recognition, features and problems of this program, which aims at identifying existing problems in practical teaching, improving teaching quality and students' satisfaction and proposing feasible suggestions to address them. In a broader context, it attempts to provide a quotable paradigm for similar innovation programs or similar institutions' internationalization.

In the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011--2015), the Chinese Committee of Science, Technology and Education, the main body for the central government's innovation policy, highlights the strengthening of the scientific--technological base and the upgrading of domestic innovative competences, and places the industrial focus on seven new strategic industries. Available data show that the transition is underway, from a Chinese growth model based on the availability of inexpensive land, investments, exports and a very large low-cost workforce to science-based and innovation-driven growth. However, the poor outcomes from public S&T expenditures suggest that future growth will depend on a different growth formula and that the greatest impact will come from an innovative innovation model. This paper focuses on an emerging Chinese innovation model that applies elements of cluster theory and the regional innovation systems approach to the next development stage of Chinese Special Economic Zones. The model also adopts features of the Triple Helix model of university--industry--government relations such as "systemness" and entrepreneurial universities to enforce regional innovativeness. The author outlines the management and governance challenges associated with the policy objective of moving from imitation to innovation. The paper is based on a study on cluster management for the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) 2009--2013 and on empirical research in collaboration with the Chinese Association of Developmental Zones (CADZ) in 2012. The study used 15 expert interviews with managers of Tianjin Wuqing Development Zone in the Beijing--Tianjin Corridor and with senior officials of CADZ, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Ministry of Science and Technology, at the Second China German Innovation Forum held in Berlin on 26 and 27 November 2012. (Contains 13 notes.)

Based on a corpus of 296 authentic business emails produced in computer-mediated business communication from 7 Chinese international trade enterprises, this paper addresses the language strategy applied in CMC (Computer-mediated Communication) by examining the use of hedges. With the emergence of internet, a wider range of hedges are applied extensively in four types of business emails: marketing email, inquiry email, quotation email, follow-up email. Marketing emails have the most hedges while follow-up emails, quotation emails have the least, and inquiry emails in between. As plausible shields, modal verbs are massively adopted in four types of business emails to show politeness and eagerness for business partnership. Marketing emails employ adaptors and rounders to soften the exaggerated expressions in the introduction to the company and its products so as to make a convincing promotion. Both inquiry emails and quotation emails use adaptors and rounders very often when figures concerning products and prices are deliberately offered in a modest way for further negotiation. Follow-up emails use rounders, adaptors and attribute shield extensively in negotiating and reaching agreement. The three types of hedges help both parties to reduce risk and defend themselves against claims with tactic language strategy. The use of hedges in business emails demonstrates the flexibility of business communication with the help of IT technology. The rules of accurate expressions in business letters are no longer strictly observed in computer-mediated communication. The breakthrough of extensive hedge using in business emails showcases a change in business communication manners mediated by IT technology.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the beliefs of undergraduate business students studying in Canada and partners in China about the quality of the program; what they consider effective signals of quality; and their willingness to pay to improve the quality. Design/methodology/approach: A survey was designed and distributed to 481 students in the transnational program during the 2009 and 2011 academic years. Statistical tests were conducted to examine mean differences in the perception of quality, different signals of quality and willingness to pay to improve quality. Findings: The findings of the study indicate that Canadian University and Chinese partner students, mostly in their final years of study, have similar beliefs about the quality of the program. They consider the program as good quality but not top rated. Chinese partners' students in their earlier years of study have a lower perception of quality but this gets better as they progress through the program. Students perceive high quality reputation and professional accreditation as equally important in terms of signalling quality. Finally, many students are willing to pay more to improve the quality of the program. Research limitations/implications: Some limitations of the study include convenience sample selection and size, translation of survey, the framing of the survey questions and controlling for factors such as grade point average, gender and other factors. Practical implications: The paper provides important information to monitor quality and to place a value on pursuing accreditation and tuition fee increases. Originality/value: Students' perception of quality has remained under-examined in the literature. The research establishes a framework which can lead to future explorations. (Contains 1 figure, 3 tables and 7 notes.)

While there has been an increase in students studying abroad in China, this increase has not been seen in the respective number of articles published in scholarly journals on education abroad in China. This paper summarizes articles from journals on the types of education abroad programs in China, organized by topic, and by the outcomes and benefits of the programs as stated in the articles. The basis for this review is relevant literature from full-text journals published from 1975 to 2013. Of 213 returns from an online search, 25 were relevant for this literature review. The benefits and outcomes of education abroad in China culled from this literature review are compared to the list of ten main outcomes of study abroad programs presented by Parsons (2010). In addition, outcomes not listed by Parsons were identified.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to focus on Confucius Institutes and assess the applicability of theories of leadership and knowledge sharing to multinational organizations and worldwide networks. Growth of multinational trade and decrease in international tension have facilitated the globalization of both profit-seeking and non-profit organizations. Changes in economic and political environment have also blurred the divide in management practices between these organizations. Design/methodology/approach: The research applies recent theoretical developments to analyze leadership and knowledge sharing of the highly successful Confucius Institutes. Operational similarities and differences between this global learning organization and multinational businesses are evaluated. Findings: Many similarities exist between the operations of the Confucius Institutes and multinational businesses. For both, strategic goals are achieved through the promotion of global expansion and the management practices of distributed leadership and knowledge sharing. The study makes clear the successful application of distributed leadership to a worldwide network. The Confucius Institutes reflect the cultural and social changes in China, combined with influences of global cultures. Findings suggest that distributed leadership is a suitable management style for coping with variant cultural and socio-political conditions globally. This leadership style, combined with a knowledge-sharing network, is also suitable for the situational variables encountered in making thousands of decisions across hundreds of global locations by both learning institutions and business organizations. Originality/value: The paper explores a relatively new area of the similarities and differences between global non-profit and business networks as learning organizations. The study is of value to both those managing and those studying such organizations.

This paper summarizes the phenomenon of offshore outsourcing and relates it to the history and current state of engineering education and the engineering profession in Europe and the USA. In order to assess the climate affecting employment decisions by and about engineers we have used as sources mostly the serious press, with an emphasis on material dating from 2004 forward. The authors conclude that despite anxiety about the out-migration of engineering and technical jobs to places such as India and China, there is reason to see offshoring as the result of Western investment in capacity building in developing countries and to believe that the creation of new jobs will outpace the rate of job loss in Europe and the USA. The paper should serve as a prod to policy-makers and educators to set about creating an environment in which highly educated engineers and technical employees can continue a pattern of economic revitalization.

The Food Safety Knowledge Network (FSKN) is a collaboration between Michigan State University, the Global Food Safety Initiative of the Consumer Goods Forum, and other food industry and public sector partners. FSKN's goal is to help strengthen the food industry's response to the complex food safety knowledge and training challenges that affect emerging markets by providing free access to high-quality, standardized learning resources. The resources were designed to be available on demand and as a structured learning experience which can support face-to-face training and fully online training. The pilots thus far have shown that participants in FSKN training demonstrate a significant increase in knowledge. The paper will share the processes used to set up an efficient open educational resources initiative including understanding licensing, using open software, establishing competencies and working with corporate and other international partners. (Contains 2 figures.)

International trade in educational services has grown substantially over the past decades. Now it is a billion dollar industry including recruitment of international students, establishment of university campuses abroad, franchised provision and on line education. WTO [World Trade Organization] requires each member nation to make its own schedule of commitments in education services, and to explain its limitations on market access and national treatment as well as other limitations. In the schedules of commitments, commitments are split into two sections: First, "horizontal" commitments which stipulate limitations that apply to all of the sectors included in the schedule; these often refer to a particular mode of supply, notably commercial presence and the presence of natural persons. Any evaluation of sector-specific commitments must therefore take the horizontal entries into account. Second, specific commitments which apply to trade in services in a particular sector or subsector are listed. This paper examines China's commitments in education services under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). It provides rough pictures about the impact of China's commitments on its education services.

Purpose: Marketing students need better grounding in understanding major worldviews of the twenty-first century, given nearly guaranteed, international interactions with stakeholders. As such, the purpose of this paper is to develop a pedagogy focused upon secular and religious worldviews that can be used effectively in the classroom. Design/methodology/approach: A cross-cultural study using data from the USA and China examines current worldview understanding among business school students. A training session in worldviews is then conducted, and a follow-up study is used to assess worldview learning and further interest in learning more about worldviews. Findings: Student understanding of worldviews is increased through a 1.5-h teaching session. Students' interest in learning more about worldviews significantly increased after the teaching session. Practical implications: Worldview training is an effective way to prepare students for interacting with stakeholders in the increasingly global world in which these students will eventually work. Business schools need to incorporate worldview training in international marketing courses, at a minimum, or offer complete courses in worldviews and related applications to business operations. Originality/value: Prior research has not tested worldview training on business students, especially when comparing student learning in a more religious-based culture (USA) and a more secular-based culture (China). Thus, this research shows that worldview training is effective regardless of the culture it is used in, which is important to informing students in a growing global marketplace.

In recent years the issue of how to fund an educational alliance, particularly at the tertiary level, has emerged as a complex and important issue. Previous research by Willis (2003) identified a range of funding sources available to Chinese and foreign universities to assist them to fund their various projects and activities in China, but did not discuss the issue in much more detail. The present paper takes the discussion further by identifying a range of "funding categories" into which alliances could be placed, depending on the nature and form of their funding approaches and strategies. For example, some alliances tended to opt for prestige, high cost and world class alliances. These were often expensive to manage and operate (and hence charged hefty fees) but sought to offer superb educational programs for their various student markets. Other alliance decision makers opted for a more pragmatic form of alliance, costed out at a more flexible and generally lower rate. A third group of alliance decision makers offered their programs and course at a cheap rate, usually by delivering basic, unadorned programs and courses, often using distance education modes of delivery. Some alliances adopted a very simple model: they simply charged the Chinese education market the same rate of fees and costs as in their home market, usually to disastrous affect--because they were simply too expensive for most markets in China. Others opted for volume based alliance tactics (seeking to attract large numbers of students to help cover their alliance costs), whereas another group felt that a more narrow and niche-like approach was preferable. The overall and seemingly most success trend was towards what can be categorized as "variable funding" alliances, where individual activities and programs were costed out (and priced) on the basis of a range of China based market factors. This more complex approach is a significant move away from more simplistic approaches which were, however, still much in evidence. The value of this paper is that it describes a range of categories and identifies some of the more successful and viable approaches, based on the views of respondents. It is hoped that the findings of the study add to what is a complex but important area of alliance activity. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)

During the recent presidential campaign, some prominent politicians called for a "time out" in negotiating new agreements to expand international trade, and others wanted to reduce it by canceling existing trade agreements. The stated concern is that trade with countries with low labor costs forces American workers to either accept lower salaries and wages or lose their jobs to low-paid foreign workers. This concern raises the question--is the goal of free international trade out of date? The author's answer to this question is an emphatic "No!" As long as creating higher paying jobs (both here and in other countries) by making the best use of scarce resources is a desirable goal, free trade is not out of date. Nations may never achieve perfectly free international trade, but the struggle to reduce existing trade restrictions is a noble one. Achieving freer trade would not only improve this country's prosperity, but it is also the most effective way to help people in other countries improve theirs. In this article, the author uses the concepts of opportunity cost and comparative advantage to explain how Americans, as well as people in smaller, and generally poorer, countries, would benefit from reduced trade restrictions.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the existing problems of quality education of specialization of international trade in current colleges and universities of China, and then propose several pieces of corresponding suggestion on educational reform. According to the characteristics of college and university education, we shall emphasize on the importance of quality education. Finally, we bring forward a series of countermeasures and proposals on the aspects of lecture mode, bilingual teaching, and training practical operation ability on instruction of specialization of international trade.

This paper provides a network analysis of the international flow of students among 210 countries and the factors determining the structure of this flow. Among these factors, bilateral hyperlink connections between countries and the number of telephone minutes (communication variables) are the most important predictors of the flow's structure, followed by trade, the physical distance between countries, a common border between countries and a common language between two countries. The USA is by far the most central country in the flow of international students, followed by China, the UK, France, Germany, Australia and India. These results are discussed in light of World-System Theory. Future research should examine how the network of international student flows changes over time and consider additional factors to provide a better understanding of the network as an international system.

Understanding how businesses function in relation to cultural and societal influences is critical for today's business leader who wants to interact competently across borders. However, developing and evaluating such competence is a challenge. One concept that provides a holistic conceptualization of intercultural competence is the notion of "mindfulness" or the ability to use reflection as a connection between knowledge and action. To facilitate the intercultural learning of a group of MBA students studying global leadership during a cross-cultural immersion experience in China, a model of cultural competence was introduced during their predeparture sessions. In order to demonstrate their understanding of intercultural competence, student papers were analyzed using a coding scheme for reflection. Data show that, overall, students increased their level of "mindfulness" and became more reflective, and in our hopes, more culturally sensitive as a result of this cross-cultural immersion program. Implications of this study can be used for teaching international business and improving study abroad assignments through reflection.

Commitments on trade in education services constitute a vital part of China's promises after securing World Trade Organization (WTO) membership. This paper provides a detailed analysis of the forms of educational imports and exports in the framework of WTO and examines the Chinese government's efforts to adjust education legislation and policy making. (Contains 2 tables.)

This paper examines the evolutionary process of secondary innovation in a typical Chinese equipment manufacturing firm in the context of globalization and elaborates how to achieve latecomer's advantage from imitation to innovation. Four stages are identified in the process of international manufacturing: the equipment import stage, the production cooperation stage, the R&D cooperation stage and the global operation stage. Technological innovation evolves as follows: from duplicative imitation to creative imitation, and then from exploitative innovation to explorative innovation. Through the evolutionary process, a firm can take advantage of globalization to accumulate knowledge and improve its capabilities, which enable it to upgrade in the global manufacturing network. (Contains 2 tables and 6 figures.)

Corporate culture is a complex phenomenon in foreign companies located in the People's Republic of China. For the management team of an international enterprise, it is a challenging task to manage cultural differences. Education and training provided to local managers might be one of the important solutions. Therefore, this study explores the effects of local managers' education and training on corporate culture in foreign companies in China. Using qualitative research, this paper presents different training forms existing in foreign companies. Furthermore, the training in general in terms of establishment of corporate culture was evaluated. General training is classified as formal and informal training or coaching in accordance with training purposes. Formal training refers to training that is indispensable to the survival and development of the corporation, while informal training is concerned with the training that happens without deliberate design or purposes. The two kinds of training can develop local managers in a complementary way. It is argued that these elements exert a complementary influence on the corporate culture with an emphasis on values and rituals.

International Trade Practice is a professional basic course for specialty of International Economy and Trade. As the core of International Trade Practice, it is extremely related to foreign affairs and needs much practical experience. This paper puts forward some suggestions on how to improve the performance of teaching in order to educate the outstanding graduates, which are urgently demanded by the foreign trade enterprises.

The telecommunication agreement reached by the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1997 will accelerate the global trend toward increased market access, competition, and deregulation. Examines opportunities for marketing and operations, dispute resolution and enforcement, profitability, and the exclusion of Russia and China. Includes the WTO conference paper and a table of the 16 largest telecom service markets. (PEN)