Understanding China's Discourse on South-South Cooperation and China
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University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Doctoral Dissertations Dissertations and Theses October 2019 UNDERSTANDING CHINA’S DISCOURSE ON SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION AND CHINA-AFRICA HIGHER EDUCATION EXCHANGE: A FIELD RESEARCH STUDY AT ZHEJIANG NORMAL UNIVERSITY’S CHINA-AFRICA INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS SCHOOL Yi Sun University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_2 Part of the African Studies Commons, Asian Studies Commons, Development Studies Commons, Economic Theory Commons, Educational Sociology Commons, Education Policy Commons, Higher Education Commons, International and Comparative Education Commons, International Relations Commons, Macroeconomics Commons, Political Economy Commons, and the Sociology of Culture Commons Recommended Citation Sun, Yi, "UNDERSTANDING CHINA’S DISCOURSE ON SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION AND CHINA-AFRICA HIGHER EDUCATION EXCHANGE: A FIELD RESEARCH STUDY AT ZHEJIANG NORMAL UNIVERSITY’S CHINA-AFRICA INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS SCHOOL" (2019). Doctoral Dissertations. 1768. https://doi.org/10.7275/15171913 https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_2/1768 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations and Theses at ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. UNDERSTANDING CHINA’S DISCOURSE ON SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION AND CHINA-AFRICA HIGHER EDUCATION EXCHANGE: A FIELD RESEARCH STUDY AT ZHEJIANG NORMAL UNIVERSITY’S CHINA-AFRICA INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS SCHOOL A Dissertation Presented by YI SUN Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment Of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY September 2019 College of Education © Copyright by Yi Sun 2019 All Rights Reserved UNDERSTANDING CHINA’S DISCOURSE ON SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION AND CHINA-AFRICA HIGHER EDUCATION EXCHANGE: A FIELD RESEARCH STUDY AT ZHEJIANG NORMAL UNIVERSITY’S CHINA-AFRICA INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS SCHOOL A Dissertation Presented by YI SUN Approved as to style and content by: ____________________________________ Bjorn H. Nordtveit, Chair ____________________________________ Jacqueline Mosselson, Member ____________________________________ Mzamo P. Mangaliso, Member ____________________________________ Jennifer Randall Associate Dean of Academic Affairs College of Education DEDICATION To my parents and all the others who made this journey possible. “The most important attitude that can be formed is that of desire to go on learning.” (John Dewey, Experience and Education, 1998:49) ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Earning a Ph.D. would feel like an endless journey for me if I was not fully engaged in my research; and the person who has brightened the pathways along and guided me through this journey is deeply appreciated. I was very lucky to meet my academic advisor, Bjorn Harald Nordtveit, six years ago in the Center for International Education at UMass-Amherst. Bjorn has both rich institutional and field research experiences in international development and comparative education worldwide, and who always sets high academic standards for himself as well as for me. I decided to work with Bjorn not only because of his high accomplishments as a professor but also his great patience, encouragement, and rigorous attitude towards the world which has inspired me constantly as well as challenged me critically. He also introduced me to academic communities which has allowed me to collaborate with many other scholars who share similar interests. I cannot say enough thanks to Bjorn; it has been invaluable to have a great advisor like him who has given me sincere support along the journey and has enabled me to develop my academic capacity. My great gratitude is also for Jacqueline Mosselson, a professor and my committee member in International Education. She has inspired me to examine cultural studies differently by considering both critical and psychological perspectives. These perspectives have become valuable methodological and theoretical approaches for my current and future researches. For my dissertation proposal and thesis, Jacqi has provided invaluable and critical feedback for me to facilitate improvements. I am also thankful to have Mzamo Mangaliso, a professor at UMass Isenberg School of Management, in my dissertation committee. Although Mzamo studied business, his research combines theories of cultural sociology and business management, which has offered me a unique insight when conducting field research and comparing cultural components in China-Africa studies in business settings. I also want to thank Dr. Xiulan Wan, Dr. Changsong Niu, and Dr. Shurong He from the Zhejiang Normal University who have enabled me to conduct the field research, understand the changing international education dynamics in Chinese universities, and share insights about China-Africa higher education with me during my visits. Their hospitality was greatly appreciated. Moreover, thanks to all Chinese students, international students, and Chinese faculty members at ZJNU who participated in the research; without you, this dissertation would be impossible. Last but not least, appreciations are given to my family and friends. Growing up in an education- prioritized Chinese family until I finished my college degree, I left my parents for the United States for advanced degrees. It has been ten years since the day I left home and my parents have always been there to support my dreams. At the same time, I would like to thank my aunt’s family; I remember that they drove 9 hours to visit me in Boston when I first arrived. Ultimately, my years in Boston and Amherst have left me unforgettable memories with friends inside and outside of the academic settings. David Garland, Rosa Medina Riveros, and Meilan Frame were there for me in the moments that I needed support. I have to convey a very special thanks to Dr. Donaldo Macedo and Dr. Pepi Leistyna, who were mentors in my early years of academic development. I appreciated your encouragement for me to pursue a higher degree, which now enables me to walk further to pursue greater success. v ABSTRACT UNDERSTANDING CHINA’S DISCOURSE ON SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION AND CHINA-AFRICA HIGHER EDUCATION EXCHANGE: A FIELD RESEARCH STUDY AT ZHEJIANG NORMAL UNIVERSITY’S CHINA-AFRICA INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS SCHOOL SEPTEMBER 2019 YI SUN, B.A., ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY – CHINA M.A., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS – BOSTON Ph.D., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS – AMHERST Directed by: Professor Bjorn H. Nordtveit This dissertation research attempts to distinguish China’s model from that of the traditional North- South relationship, with a focus on how China’s philosophy articulates its foreign policy and the nation’s higher education engagement with African countries. It examines the China-Africa higher education partnership in response to China’s discourse on South-South Cooperation (SSC), Africa’s human resource flows, and the benefits and constraints of current China-Africa cooperation. In order to achieve these goals, the dissertation uses one of the China-Africa partnership universities in China, Zhejiang Normal University (ZJNU) as a site for its field research. The fieldwork looks at both a student level (e.g., studying experience and human capacity building) and an institutional level (e.g., university policy for foreign student management), aims to gauge the partnership’s potential effects on African countries by examining the African students’ motivation for and perceptions of studying and living in China, their plans after graduation, and opinions on cooperation and development. Research data came from national and institutional statistics, and 75 interviewees from ZJNU, including African students, students of other nationalities, Chinese students, and Chinese faculty members. The dissertation has six chapters. The first three chapters provide background information, discuss theoretical framework, and describe the methodologies applied for the fieldwork research. The following chapters attempt to deconstruct research questions and explore China’s discourse on SSC, and to analyze its engagement with Africa’s higher education and human capacity building by looking into China’s Africa policy and China’s alternative model of development (with Chinese characteristics). Since each research component is inextricably linked with China’s socio-economic development and policy changes, the analysis for the field research has the potential to open up areas of knowledge that have been overlooked in the past few decades. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .............................................................................................................................. v ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................................................ x LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................................................... xi ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................