Summary

Hainan, an island province in south China, is continuing to develop its plans to introduce more education resources from both overseas and domestic universities. The province, along with the national-level Ministry of Education, has now designated three areas for its educational development plans: Yazhou Bay Science & Education City in Sanya; the Lingshui Li'an International Education Innovation Experimental Zone in Lingshui, around 80 km from Sanya; and Jiangdong Guilinyang Higher Education District in the provincial capital Haikou. A number of domestic universities have announced plans to set up branches in the province, with some of these universities offering teaching (either independently or in cooperation with overseas partners) while others will operate laboratories or research institutions.

Each region will have a particular specialism. Institutions in Yazhou Bay will focus on the ocean economy and/or agriculture, including Shanghai Jiaotong University, Zhejiang University, China Agricultural University, China Ocean University and Wuhan University of Technology. Meanwhile Lingshui will specialise in tourism and modern service industries, with Communication University of China, Minzu University of China and Beijing Sport University all planning to set up branches in this area. Finally Beijing Foreign Studies University and Beijing Language and Culture University will specialise in supporting industrial development in Haikou's Jiangdong New District.

Analysis by Kevin Prest, Senior Analyst, British Council International Education Services

This news shows the continued development of Hainan's "International Education Island" strategy, previously discussed on the British Council IES website in July. The plans give Hainan more flexibility regarding attracting overseas education resources compared to most other parts of the country, and point towards favourable attitudes towards international education from both provincial and national authorities.

At the same time, UK HEIs should continue to bear in mind that Hainan is a comparatively less-developed province and that local students tend to have lower interest in international education than those in wealthier parts of the country. Opportunities should be considered on a case-by-case basis and compared to other parts of China which are also looking to internationalise their education sectors.

Sources

1. China News: International education cooperation plans start to take effect; 19 domestic and overseas universities will establish branches in Hainan (in Chinese) - https://www.chinanews.com/gn/2019/12-17/9036229.shtml

2. British Council IES: China's Hainan province issues implementation plan for its "International Education Island" project (July 2019) - https://education-services.britishcouncil.org/news/market-news/chinas-hainan-province-issues-implementation-plan-its-international-education