Amid the great power competition between China and the United States, an unlikely group has been caught in the crossfire: Chinese international students. Of the approximately 1,000,0000 non-domestic students studying in the United States, 290,000 are from China. Although this is comparatively low to the 2019 high of 370,000, Chinese students still comprise the largest group of international students studying in the United States. However, new American policy enacted in the name of national security has labeled their presence a threat, and the future of Chinese enrollment in American universities may become a casualty in America’s rivalry with China.
The enrollment of Chinese international students in American universities is exceptionally high due to an “iron triangle” of overlapping socio-political interests. Chinese students are attracted to the quality of American universities; these universities likewise seek out international students from China who can pay higher tuition fees than domestic American students. This relationship has been encouraged by the United States government as part of its soft power strategy over China. Historically, the U.S. State Department’s thinking has been that Chinese students are passively exposed to the benefits of liberal democracy while studying in America and, consequently, bring back pro-American and pro-democracy attitudes as they enter the workforce and eventually climb the ranks of Chinese business and politics.
However, under the Trump Administration, America’s support of Chinese international students waned as fears arose that these students were instead using their elite American education to advance strategic Chinese interests, such as their weapons industry and machine learning development. In May 2020, the White House announced Proclamation 10043 which banned graduate and postgraduate Chinese students with ties to the Chinese military from entering the United States. These suspicions were not entirely unfounded as China has been known to sponsor the education of thousands of “military scientists” to study in America. Although most of these students disclosed their ties to the Chinese military during the application process or otherwise, instances exist of Chinese students purposefully obfuscating their military connections for unknown, possibly malicious reasons.
In addition, the Chinese Communist Party has been known to exert an unusual level of influence and control over Chinese students pursuing education overseas. According to a Trump-era State Department memo, many Chinese international students sponsored to conduct research through China’s “Military-Civil Fusion” plan have entered legally binding agreements to “conceal their PRC relationship and funding” and “report on their overseas research to PRC diplomats.”
Proclamation 10043, although intended to combat undue Chinese influence on college campuses, has been criticized for its vague, broad language. For example, students have been barred entry to the United States because they studied at Chinese universities with military research wings – even if the students themselves had not conducted any military research. The proclamation also excludes Chinese students from studying machine learning and artificial intelligence entirely – even if they have no intentions of working for the Chinese government. Critics say the order also leaves evaluating a student’s military connection to the discretion of American border agents who work independently of the U.S. State Department. As a result, many Chinese students have been arbitrarily refused entry into America by border agents even though they possess valid, State Department-approved visas.
In a November 2023 meeting with Xi Jinping, President Biden reaffirmed his commitment to increasing Chinese international student enrollment – marking a resumption of traditional American foreign policy and strategy. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made similar remarks during his 2024 visit to NYU’s Shanghai campus stating, “We have about – almost 300,000 Chinese students in the United States, and that’s something we very much support… we want to make sure that Chinese students are welcome in the United States.”
Despite these friendly overtures, Proclamation 10043 remains in effect and thousands of Chinese international students have been denied entry into America since 2020. Although outwardly reaffirming their commitment to free educational exchange between America and China, it is clear that the Biden Administration remains wary of China’s intentions. This has led the Biden Administration to seek out other unique solutions that preserve America’s scientific lead over China, but also de-politicize the education of Chinese students. One such solution was proposed by Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Kampbell in June, who supported the growth of Chinese enrollment in America but also suggested they study the humanities rather than science.
Nonetheless, American suspicions that Chinese researchers working in America secretly collaborate with China’s military predate both the Biden and Trump Administrations. In 1950, the United States placed Qian Xuesen, a highly talented Chinese-born rocket scientist with decades of loyal service to the American military and government, under house arrest amid unfounded McCarthy-era fears that Xuesen was a communist agent. In 1955, he was unceremoniously deported to China despite there being no evidence found to substantiate claims of communist collusion. In China, Xuesen – disgruntled and out of work – resorted to working for the Chinese rocketry program which subsequently made rapid advancements in missile technology. America’s deportation of a brilliant researcher simply over his nationality backfired to such an extent that the decision to deport Xuesen was dubbed by American Secretary of the Navy Dan Kimball as “the stupidest thing this country ever did.”
The American government must be careful not to repeat its past mistakes of excluding talent in the name of national security and great-power rivalry. That so many students flock to America in pursuit of high-quality education is a luxury not granted to many other countries; it should not be taken for granted. The intentions behind Proclamation 10043 must also be reevaluated: Does the proclamation genuinely serve America’s national interests, or is it a product of fears more sinister? And if even university campuses become battlegrounds in the Sino-American rivalry, then is any space immune? Although the United States has a legitimate interest in maintaining its scientific edge over China, its current policy of educational protectionism has the counterproductive side effect of excluding genius simply due to national origin – potentially stifling future American scientific progress and aiding rather than impeding Chinese technological advancements.
Featured/Headline Image Caption and Citation: Group of Graduating Students | Image sourced from Pxhere | CC License, no changes made