The response of Chinese Universities to the impact of China accession to WTO

The response of Chinese Universities to the impact of China accession to WTO Abstract China’s entry in the WTO was an opportunity, as well as a challenge for Chinese Universities. Most universities have realized the need to adapt to several changes in acquiring new skills and techniques in teaching and in market atmosphere. This has been an inherently complex process which in many ways was almost unprecedented by both China and the WTO. To open country which had long history and divers cultures to the outside world has both positive and negative impacts when mismanaged. Since the impact is unavoidable China has to get to know, master and use the WTO rules and regulations and grasp the advantages while avoiding the disadvantages in order to turn the challenge into opportunities. Although much progress has been made in China, the Chinese people still have a not yet achieved their ultimate goal of harmonizing China with the world. As we look back today it’s significantly clear that, China’s accession to the WTO has had a tremendous impact to the basic evaluation of the economy. This has brought the opportunities and challenges to the country like it has allowed foreign countries to participate in China’s education system under WTO rules and opening a gate for China to be incorporated into an international education market. There are specific influences which this has brought in operation and output in the Chinese universities. For example this has necessitated the need for positive response from the Chinese education policy makers for the country to be able to contain the ripples of the changes. This has been a topic of concern amongst the elite people in China especially those who do not have an understanding of the role of China joining WTO. Although the WTO mainly focuses on economic and trade agreements, but fundamentally its effects spill over to many sectors of the economy especially education which carries a large percentage of the national annual budget. There is an education gap between China and western developed countries especially in higher education this is mainly seen in the policies and in the privatisation agenda of higher education in China. Some Chinese Universities have begun to assume a form of an enterprise or a government project to make profits. This is the case in most western countries although the basic nature of university is academic research. Developed countries need their Universities have to plough back their findings to the society for development purposes. Most companies in China are not directly supporting research because the government seem to fund the Universities at sustainable levels. Now this might change as China become fully integrated into the WTO rules. This might bring an improvement and accountability to the university research system due to close supervision as in the western countries university system. The WTO impact of fair competition in international market has still future potential of impact the university management system in China. This might trickle down to the all specialized education sectors like undergraduate education and postgraduate education and tertiary colleges. Table of Contents Abstract 1 Table of Contents 3 CHAPTER TWO 5 2.0 Introduction 5 2.0.1The History of WTO 5 2.0.2 China in the past 20 years 5 CHAPTER THREE 7 3.0 Research Objectives 7 CHAPTER FOUR 8 4.0 Literature Review 8 4.1 Specific Opportunities for China under WTO 8 4.2 Implications of China Entry into WTO: What China leaders said. 10 4.3 Why Did the WTO agreement become adopted into the educational system? 11 4.4 Characteristics of Educational Services under WTO rules 12 CHAPTER FIVE 14 5.0 Study Discourse 14 5.1 The Impact of WTO entry on Chinese Education 14 5.2 The most close tenets in WTO which impact education directly 14 5.3 The WTO and its Influence on Chinese Foreign Language Education 15 5.4 The potential future implications of China entry to WTO in Unive