Market–security tensions in UK–China academic engagement: perspectives from UK higher education

Abstract This paper examines the securitization of UK–China academic exchange in the context of intensifying geopolitical tensions and higher education marketization. It argues that UK universities are caught in a dilemma: compelled to navigate growing state-imposed security imperatives while remaining financially dependent on international students from China. Drawing on securitization theory and interpretive analysis of policy documents, media narratives, and ethnographic insights, the paper conceptualizes universities as active sites of controlled interdependence—negotiating risks, compliance demands, and academic freedom. The analysis highlights how securitization processes, framed as safeguarding national security, can lead to racialized suspicion and epistemic exclusion. This dynamic is compounded by austerity-driven budget cuts that disproportionately affect language and area studies, further shrinking the space for open, critical inquiry. The paper concludes with reflections on policy and scholarly implications, calling for renewed investment in China expertise and more balanced, evidence-based governance of international academic partnerships.