America’s universities will welcome fewer Chinese students this year, thanks to rock-bottom Sino-US relations

For many Chinese students, the dream of an American education has lost its lustre
Some have had their study plans disrupted by the pandemic and tougher travel policies, others are put off by reports of anti-Asian hate crimes in the US

Philip J. Cunningham

Published: 6:45am, 25 Aug 2022

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It’s back-to-college time in the United States. Students are descending on university towns and cities, enjoying a few more days of summer before they become saddled with coursework, writing papers and exam preparation.

At Cornell University and other prestigious colleges across the country, some 10 per cent of these students are Chinese. At first glance, it looks like a return to the days before the pandemic and the downward spiral of US-China relations.

Yet Chinese students, who in recent years have represented a third of all foreign students in the US, are not enrolling in the same numbers as before. And those who do bring with them new worries and concerns.

The optics of studying in the US, once the top choice for China’s elite and ambitious upper middle class, have dimmed. A glance at the international news confirms the perception that US-China relations are at an all-time low, but that’s only half the problem. News stories about rampant Covid-19, monkeypox, anti-Asian hate crimes and gun violence in the US are scary and not without foundation.

People attend a candlelight vigil in California on March 17, 2021, to unite against anti-Asian racism and violence. Photo: AFP

In a time of economic dislocation, the price tag of an American college education – arguably the best in the world, but also the most expensive – is daunting. Employment prospects after graduation have diminished both in China, where hiring is down, and in the US, where visa restrictions limit opportunities.

According to informal reports, the number of Chinese students at Cornell is down about 10 per cent, and the situation is more stark on other campuses. Ivy League schools have the reputation and resources to weather the storm, but smaller colleges with more precarious budgets will be hit hard by the decline in students from China, most of whom pay full tuition.

The pros and cons for studying abroad have become more complicated. In some respects, Chinese universities are better than ever, though ideological controls and a lack of academic freedom remain a concern. It’s certainly cheaper to stay at home. And if the urge to study abroad persists, there are cheaper places than the US.

The UK and Europe offer quality alternatives – until the Russian invasion of Ukraine, few realised that hundreds of Chinese were studying in places like Kharkiv and Kyiv. There are also many programmes closer to home, from bilingual courses in Thailand and Singapore to more traditional placements in Australia and New Zealand.

A woman passes the entrance to Peking University’s Wanliu campus on May 16. Photo: AFP

Adding to the negative momentum caused by the pandemic are poorly conceived US policies that impede entry for students with Communist Party affiliations. Prominent American politicians, including senators Tom Cotton, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Marsha Blackburn recoil at the thought that “communists” are among the hundreds of thousands of Chinese studying in the US, in a flashback to knee-jerk McCarthyism.

Anyone with a rudimentary understanding of today’s China knows that a political party of 100 million people is not a guerilla brigade but a fact of life in a country organised along different principles to the US. Sure, the Communist Party has much to answer for, but imagine if US citizens were barred from travelling abroad due to affiliations with the Republican Party or Democratic Party, both of which also have much to answer for.

Spies and infiltrators exist in both countries, but the vast majority of student applicants simply want to pursue an education. It is the job of universities to educate and it is the job of counter-intelligence agencies to discreetly investigate the handful of cases where national security is actually an issue.

It’s simply not fair to paint all Chinese with the same “red” brush as did intemperate ideologues in the Donald Trump administration, including Stephen Miller, Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro, who spoke of banning Chinese across the board.

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While much of the blame can be pinned on the hateful rhetoric of America’s previous president, the Joe Biden administration has remained wary of loosening any restrictions on China, even the most counterproductive ones. Visa regulations for Chinese seeking entry to the US remain hampered by Trump-era policy, in the same way trade tariffs have yet to return to the pre-Trump “normal”.

It takes two to tango, and Beijing has been fuelling the fires of antipathy too. Not only has the number of foreigners permitted to enter China dropped drastically, it is also now harder for Chinese citizens to get a passport, stymying those who would otherwise love to travel to the US.

The combined tragedy of the pandemic and political downturn means that students who have prepared for years for a tertiary education in the US are being forced to reconsider.

An exodus of foreigners is under way. Does China want them any more?

While the low Covid-19 rates in China may be a plus for residents and visitors alike, the draconian crackdowns that worked well in the early stages of the pandemic do not necessarily make sense any more.

An inflexible and at times abusive pandemic-control regime greatly reduces China’s attractiveness as a study destination for American students. The strict lockdowns may even prove sufficiently daunting to push more Chinese into considering overseas study, despite the obstacles.

For now, Chinese students are back on campuses across the US. It’s not the best of times, but a reassuring sense of normalcy has returned, and there’s something to be said for that in these troubled times.

Philip J. Cunningham has been a regular visitor to China since 1983, working as a tour guide, TV producer, freelance writer, independent scholar and teacher