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This study investigates the cross-linguistic differences and interactive effects of L2 (English) and L3 (Japanese) motivational self systems among 436 Chinese university students through a questionnaire survey. The results indicate that the ideal L2 self, ought-to L2 self, and positive L2 learning experience are significantly higher than those of L3, while the negative L2 learning experience is significantly lower than that of L3. Significant interactive effects were found between the L2 and L3 motivational self systems. Specifically, ideal self, ought-to self, and positive learning experience exhibited positive interactions, whereas negative learning experience showed significant negative interactive effects. The findings highlight the dynamic relationship between English and non-English motivational systems in China’s multilingual education context, emphasizing the role of institutional language hierarchies and resource allocation in shaping motivational systems. This study provides empirical evidence for optimizing motivational intervention strategies in multilingual education.