In this paper we analyse the causes and implications of the policy shifts in joint programmes/institutes between ‘foreign’ higher education institutions and their Chinese partners. Concretely we review policy documents to understand the reforms taken by the Chinese Ministry of Education in 2018 to review all Sino-Foreign higher education partnerships. This review resulted in the termination of 234 joint programs/institutes and the approval of 58 new ones. Few studies examine the importance of exit mechanisms from these partnerships. There is also a need to understand the evolving rules and goals that foreign partners must meet to gain approval. We examine a variety of factors that are involved in these policies and have identified important themes including the effects of (Chinese) regional/provincial development, the role of academic discipline, and a growing shift in the pattern of foreign partners that are involved in joint programmes. Among the newly approved programmes is a wider set of partner countries. While ‘top’ universities are still the preferred partners in Sino-Foreign programmes, there is a diminished dominance of traditional partner countries such as the UK. As more and more scientific research is produced in China, this has potential implications for the new geopolitics of knowledge.
