This autobiographical article examines Confucius Institutes (CIs) through the lens of pluriversal International Relations, using the author’s seven‑year experience as a Taiwan‑born director of the University of Helsinki CI as an empirical point of departure. It argues that dominant Western and Chinese narratives—respectively critical and celebratory—oversimplify the complex, localized, and negotiated nature of CI operations. As the article notes, “expert presumptions are valid, but the individuals involved in the daily practice of CI cooperation create both predictable results and counterintuitive outcomes,” highlighting how cooperation unfolds through interpersonal dynamics, institutional cultures, and evolving interpretations of identity and intent. Drawing on encounters with Chinese officials, staff, and Finnish partners, the author shows how CI practices defy monolithic portrayals of Chinese soft power, instead reflecting a multilayered process of localization involving Chinese, local, and sometimes transnational actors. The article situates these insights within broader debates on the Belt and Road Initiative and global China studies, arguing that ethnographic attention to negotiation and adaptation is essential for understanding Chinese international cooperation. It concludes by critiquing the sensationalist logic of Western media and calling for pluriversal, decolonial approaches that can capture the nuanced realities of CI collaborations, even as their appeal declines in the liberal West.