Chinese students weigh overseas options as Covid-19 and US visa limits take toll: report
- Trump administration’s restrictions on academics have contributed to almost stagnant growth in the number of Chinese students heading to the US, think tank says
- Some parents are ‘opting for international schools in China’ rather than sending their children elsewhere
The growth in the number of Chinese students studying in the US plunged to less than 1 per cent last year, and some parents were opting for international schools in China rather than sending their children overseas, the report said.
“Political factors will affect the trend of Chinese students going to the US,” the Centre for China and Globalisation said in a report published jointly with the Institute of Development Studies at Southwestern University of Finance and Economics.
“The Trump administration [discriminated] against Chinese students, especially those in the tech and postgraduate sectors. It has also imposed strict restrictions on Chinese students on government sponsorship, restricting normal international education and exchanges.”
It also said: “Many universities have cut budgets because of the reduction of the number of international students, due to the spread of the epidemic.”
01:25
US colleges face US$15 billion hit as Chinese students stay away amid coronavirus pandemic
The assessment was part of the “Report on the Development of Chinese Students Studying Abroad 2020-2021”.