In a context of intensified globalization, the importance of international governmental organizations and non-governmental organizations as influencers and shapers of the global environment is becoming prominent. Participation in international organizations leads to active incorporation of nation-states with worldwide connotations. In higher education, nation-centric policies are no longer sufficient and cannot adequately engage with the new global realities of transnational economic, political and cultural interconnectivities. A global convergence of educational policy has been placed highly on the agendas of national governments and international organizations. Increasing international activities in the arena of education raise the question as to what extent international organizations are complementing or even partly taking over the design and provision of education policies. Using examples of higher education practices from China, this article explores the role played by international organizations in the transformation of mode of governance in Chinese higher education. It examines how international organizations "lend" their ideas for circulation, and how the local and the global play out. It analyses what circulates internationally as "reforms" and its impact on the actors that move and translate such practices into local contexts, exploring the relation of the global in local situations and the complex impact of policy borrowing.