For decades, numerous studies have widely examined teacher turnover intention by identifying the leading professional factors. Yet, comparatively less attention has been paid to examining how these factors contribute to (un)fulfilling basic needs, which lead to pre-service language teachers' turnover intentions. To fill this gap, this study examined professional factors leading to turnover intentions among African pre-service teachers of the Chinese language trained in China, whose professional preparation is embedded in multiple national and linguistic contexts. The study aimed to identify the most influential professional factors that (un)fulfilled basic needs and led to pre-service teachers' intentions to stay or leave teaching. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 13 Francophone African pre-service teachers enrolled in the Chinese Language Teaching programme in China (FAPT-CLTs) and analysed using inductive thematic analysis. As a result, the findings revealed that salary and employment stability were the most influential factors in shaping pre-service teachers' career decisions. Most pre-service teachers highlighted that this profession did not offer competitive salaries and lacked stability, which led to their unmet basic needs due to professional dissatisfaction and socioeconomic reasons. Findings also revealed a high rate of turnover intentions among teachers, driven by extrinsic motivations. Unlike turnover, a weak retention intention was identified among a small group of teachers, based on intrinsic motivations—a passion for the teaching profession. Despite their passion, they were open to other career opportunities if no reforms were made. These findings have implications for enhancing professional development trajectories of transnational language teachers.