<p>This paper investigates how China’s global science collaboration policies—often framed as instruments of science diplomacy and foreign engagement—are translated and enacted within a leading Chinese research university. Drawing on 19 semi-structured interviews with faculty and administrators, as well as internal institutional documents, the study applies a dual theoretical lens that combines policy translation theory with institutional logics theory. Building on this integration, we develop a conceptual model that distinguishes three ideal-typical translation patterns—substantive compliance, symbolic compliance, and strategic resistance—and conceptualizes institutional dissonance as an organizational condition of persistent misalignment between policy mandates and internal evaluation/incentive systems. Empirically, the case suggests that while national and global policy directives emphasize strategic collaboration—particularly with Global South partners—institutional enactments are frequently oriented toward discursive alignment and visible initiatives, whereas faculty collaboration choices and career strategies remain strongly shaped by publication prestige and internationally recognized metrics. Divergent institutional logics across administrative units and faculty thus generate symbolic and performative enactments, selective resistance, and enduring talk–practice gaps. By unpacking how foreign policy imperatives interact with university governance and professional agency, the study contributes to emerging scholarship on China’s global science system and offers a transferable analytical framework for examining how science diplomacy agendas are translated into academic practice in institutions navigating multiple and often conflicting logics.</p>