Newly founded local universities: "land-grant colleges" on Chinese soil?

The newly founded local universities (NFLUs) are a recent phenomenon in China, totaling almost 700 in number. This species of universities specifically refers to those founded since the dawn of the 21st century, amid China’s campaign of dramatically expanding higher education admissions and the movement towards a mass system. They are funded and governed locally, and most have roots in the previous teachers training colleges; career colleges offering applied programs in a specific field such as agriculture, technology, health and accounting; and vocational colleges. The mushrooming of this type of universities is not derived from academic logic, but driven by political rationale and interest. As such, their surge, to a certain degree, mirrors the emergence of the land-grant colleges in the US during the mid- to late-19th century. Prompted by such sentiment concerning the NFLUs in China vis-à-vis the land-grant universities in the US, this chapter discusses the current status of the NFLUs, their attitude and latitude with respect to future development, and the implications for equality and equity in Chinese higher education. On each dimension of the explorations, their relations with the local governments at the city level are placed at the core and examined in association with other factors.