Against a backdrop of globalised higher education (HE)--one in which a number of British universities are setting up campuses overseas--China represents a vast and lucrative market. This paper presents data on the perceptions and experiences of 20 Chinese students who are currently studying at a British university's campus located in China. Drawing upon theoretical and empirical linkages between the expansion of British HE into overseas markets and neo-colonial (or imperialist) activities, this paper discovers that sociocultural perceptions and ideological constructs such as "creativity" and "value" form a vital basis for the exchange of knowledge in transnational HE.