A major transformation of higher education has been underway in China since 1999 and will have potential impacts for the global educational structure. Reflecting China's commitment to continued high growth through quality upgrading and the production of ideas and intellectual property as set out in both the tenth (2001-2005) and eleventh (2006-2010) five-year plans, this transformation focuses on major new resource commitments to tertiary education and also embodies significant changes in organizational form. Potential major impacts follow for China, the global economy, and for the global educational structure, reflecting the increasing global importance of China's educational system and the competitive impacts on global educational delivery.