Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report the findings of a series of interviews conducted with a number of managers of Chinese private higher education institutions on the growth of the private higher education sector in China and the relationship it has with the government. Private higher education managers in China do seem concerned with the regulatory impediments to their institutions' development and the difficulties involved in competing with state-funded institutions. Design/methodology/approach: The paper uses a series of interviews conducted with a number of managers of Chinese private higher education institutions on the growth of the private higher education sector in China and the relationship it has with the government. Findings: The research found that private higher education managers in China do seem concerned with the regulatory impediments to their institutions' development and the difficulties involved in competing with state-funded institutions. Originality/value: This work is the only one of its kind in the academic literature.