Chinese universities in the situation of state policy transformation: responses to the challenges of globalization

The changes in China's higher education are largely determined by political regime transformations and target settings of the ruling elites. Under the domination of the Communist Party of China, the development of universities is directly determined by governmental decisions. The article reveals specific characteristics of Chinese higher educational institutions in the periods of the Soviet model domination, of «great leap forward» and «cultural revolution». The main attention is paid to the basic changes in the system of higher education under the influence of socialist market economy reforms and China’s entering the world market of educational services, and to the search of optimal responses to the challenges posed by globalization to the universities.