Scientific policy guidance is a key factor in the development of Sino foreign cooperation in running schools. After more than 40 years of development, Chinese-foreign cooperation in running schools has gone through four stages: ice breaking period, exploration period, development period and improvement period. This paper sorts out the deductive process of Sino foreign cooperative education policy, analyzes the characteristics of the four stages, points out the trend of policy changes, and makes it clear that the development of social background, the needs of education and the response to problems are the reasons of policy changes in Sino foreign cooperation in running schools.