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With the growing trend of globalisation and the internationalisation of higher education, China actively recruits more international students to study at Chinese universities. Notably, international doctoral students are a significant cohort in this trend. Although many studies have investigated international students' learning experiences in China, few have explored their motivations to pursue doctoral degrees in China. To fill this gap, through the push-pull model, we explored the motivation of 55 international doctoral students from three Chinese universities. The findings show that various national, institutional, and individual factors comprehensively influenced their choice to pursue doctoral studies in Chinese universities. Their experiences also reflect that China is progressively establishing a systematic mechanism to attract international doctoral students by taking advantage of economic development and Chinese academic returnees. While these advantages attract international doctoral students to study in China, Chinese universities may still play an alternative role in international doctoral education. This study contributes to international higher education and doctoral education. Implications and suggestions for future studies are discussed.