The People's Republic of China has determined to assume a respected place amongst the world's foremost higher education providers. Its short term strategy is multi-pronged: attracting world-class scholars; attracting international students and encouraging Chinese universities to run branches overseas. As well, a small number of select foreign universities have been invited to contribute to joint venture higher education institutions in China. Joint ventures provide an opportunity for local students to obtain a foreign degree without leaving the country but increasingly they also provide a supported environment for international students to come to China to study. This phenomenon has created some problematic areas. For instance, all current and proposed joint ventures use English as their medium of instruction but many of the source countries such as Russia, Indonesia, Japan Korea and Malaysia are not English speaking. Why then do international students from those countries choose to study at an English or American university located in China? This study explores the reasons why international students choose to enroll at University of Nottingham Ningbo China, the most established JV in China.