Inspired by the 'advanced' Western experience, China has implemented the New Curriculum Reform promoting learner-centred education since 2001. The OECD has identified this reform as a key feature contributing to Shanghai's 'PISA success', worthy in turn of re-imitation by the West. Drawing upon official documents and interview data, this article shows that learner-centred education has been well accepted in rhetoric, which has led to more time being given to pupil activities. However, in reality, teaching and learning practices have continued to reflect what Confucian scholars have persistently advocated. Moreover, this article illustrates that the 'round trip' of learner-centred education between the East and the West has only taken place on the surface. The Chinese government has relied on the transformed Western concept for policy legitimacy, while international policy agencies have nevertheless deployed the case of China as an ideal exemplar to justify this Western concept as a global 'best practice'.
