This study examines ideologies about language use and policy among international students studying in China against the backdrop of the "Belt and Road" Initiative (BRI). Drawing from ethnographic and interview data collected at an international business program in Shanghai, this chapter investigates how institutional language ideologies become contested in international students' academic experience in China. Data collection spanned the course of 6 months and included interviews, classroom and participant observations, and artifacts. Findings showed that, due to the belief of English being the international language, students formed a so-called English-speaking "foreign bubble" environment to justify the avoidance of Chinese. Yet, their belief of English as an international language was challenged by the faculty and staff's assumption that Chinese is necessary for studying in China. These results shed light on the linguistic dilemmas and tensions in the attempt to enhance China's soft power through study abroad using English. [For the complete volume, "Crossing Boundaries in Researching, Understanding, and Improving Language Education: Essays in Honor of G. Richard Tucker. Educational Linguistics. Volume 58," see ED672546.]