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WACO, Texas: Chinese students on US campuses have been caught in the middle of the deteriorating relationship between the United States and China.
The anti-China rhetoric of US President Donald Trump and his aggressive advisers has created social distrust, leading to a hostile political and social environment for Chinese students in the United States.
A recent Pew Research Center poll shows that negative views on China have skyrocketed by nearly 20% in the United States since Trump took office in 2016.
The Trump administration has reduced and limited optional practical training (OPT) for international students and limited H-1B and J-1 visas.
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The administration also threatened to issue an executive order to prevent international students from remaining in the country if they enroll in schools online by the fall semester of 2020. Trump explicitly called most Chinese students “spies.”
Three Republican lawmakers introduced legislation in May 2020 to ban Chinese students from pursuing graduate studies in science, technology, engineering or mathematics.
Chinese students made up about 13.5 percent of the 42,227 students who earned doctorates in science and engineering at American universities in 2018.
A COOLING MESSAGE
This aggressive rhetoric has sent a chilling message to Chinese students.
People walk on an empty campus of the University of Southern California (USC), amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Los Angeles, California, USA, August 17, 2020. REUTERS / Lucy Nicholson
The arrival of COVID-19 in the spring of 2020 disrupted classes on campus in the middle of the semester. Chinese students fled their homes amid the global outbreak when the United States became the global epicenter of the pandemic.
The United States has always been the top destination for Chinese students to study abroad. In the academic year from 2019 to 2020, there were 372,532 Chinese students enrolled in American universities, representing 35 percent of the total number of international students in the United States.
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The student exchange between the United States and China has been an important part of bilateral relations since 1979, when diplomatic relations between the two countries were normalized.
Chinese students have contributed to the American economy. Its tuition fees and living expenses contributed $ 15.9 billion in 2019. This is significant given that many US universities face financial challenges and a decline in national enrollments.
Top-tier American universities also compete for students from China to attract a diverse body of students and bring global talent to their campuses. Many universities believe that international students should be considered talents and not a threat to national security.
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DIFFERENT DECREASE OF CHINESE STUDENTS
Competing for high-level foreign talent is a trend among developed countries. Germany and the UK have enacted new policies to encourage immigration and the employment of highly skilled foreign talent.
Instead, the Trump administration has imposed more restrictions on international students and skilled labor in an attempt to appeal to its core base, which prefers deglobalization under the slogan “America first.”
As a result of Trump’s trade war against China, some US universities have reported a sharp decline in Chinese students in 2020. Entry visas issued to Chinese students have dropped by nearly 70% in 2020 due to the combination of health, economic and political problems. submitted for 2020.
(Photo: Unsplash / Mohammad Shahhosseini)
Chinese students studying in the United States see the pursuit of higher education as an opportunity to broaden their horizons, develop their credentials, receive a comprehensive education, and understand Western culture and society.
Studying and living abroad, especially in the United States, demonstrates your openness, enthusiasm, and willingness to learn and immerse yourself in the global community.
The Trump administration’s focus on deglobalization and decoupling means that international students, especially Chinese students, are becoming victims of America’s conservative policies. Chinese students feel that they are being unfairly scrutinized and politicized due to their Chinese nationality and ethnicity.
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EXCHANGE OF STUDENTS IMPORTANT FOR BILATERAL RELATIONS
The current political environment, the public health crisis, and growing xenophobia have brought uncertainty to the future of Chinese students studying in the United States.
Some university presidents and China Studies scholars have been outspoken about the Trump administration’s policies, including the presidents of MIT and Columbia University.
In a recent open letter to the incoming Biden administration, Columbia University President Lee Bollinger criticized Trump’s policies on international students for harming America’s higher education, economy and society.
The open letter calls on President-elect Joe Biden to end Trump’s policies toward international students, including travel bans against Muslim students and the unfair treatment of Chinese students and academics.
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The new administration must understand that student exchanges have been an important part of the bilateral relations between the United States and China since 1979.
Closing the door to international and Chinese students will not solve the internal economic problems and conflicts between the two countries. Trade wars, tariffs, and visa restrictions will not lead the United States or any other country to economic revitalization.
It will only create more tension which, in turn, will endanger world peace and security.
Xin Wang is an associate professor of China studies at Baylor University, Texas. This comment first appeared on the East Asia Forum.
