Between competition and cooperation: how China’s national policies reimagine international students (2000–2025)

International student mobility is increasingly shaped by intertwined logics of cooperation and competition, yet many internationalisation frameworks still overlook their synergistic potential. Adopting a Yin-Yang lens as a de-Westernised theoretical framework, this study examines how the competition–cooperation dynamic is constructed within China’s international student education policies and how international students are represented beyond the conventional framing as para-diplomats. Based on a critical policy discourse analysis of 50 national-level policy texts, the findings show that China’s competitive (Yang) logic operates on two interlinked fronts: an outward-oriented pursuit of global influence through soft power and an inward-facing alignment with domestic development priorities. This competitive orientation simultaneously produces and deepens cooperative (Yin) outcomes, including value-based narratives and development-oriented partnerships. Within this hybrid policy logic, cooperation actively functions as an integral mechanism that disciplines competition and promotes global solidarity. International students in China are no longer constructed solely as para-diplomats, but increasingly as multifaceted policy subjects: cultural intermediaries, contributors to innovation, and relational actors facilitating international understanding. Through the Yin-Yang perspective, this study extends existing debates on coopetition in international higher education and offers transferable conceptual insights for non-Western contexts seeking to reconcile national development ambitions with global responsibility.