This article presents two Chinese international branch campuses located in Europe as cases. Semi-structured interviews and document analysis were undertaken to clarify the motivations of establishing international branch campuses, their governance models, and operational challenges. We found that authorities' regulatory policies and public norms impact the decision making of Chinese universities. Universities are also eager to uphold their vision of internationalisation, opening up, through the establishment of international branch campuses. The governance of Chinese international branch campuses mainly depends on bilateral cooperation rather than on adoption of the host or home university's governance modus operandi, which indicates a kind of transitional approach. Joint decision-making, limited financial resources and institutional distance between the home and host universities have led to a type of balance seeking programme operation, that seeks to accommodate both Chinese policies, institutional practices as well as European higher education practices and policies. Overall, the self-proclaimed orientation of Chinese international branch campuses in Europe has not yet been fully achieved, and a series of ongoing issues remains to be resolved.