The study, published by the US-China Education Trust (USCET) last month, laid bare the rapidly declining rate of US students travelling to China, with fewer than 2,000 Americans currently at Chinese universities, down from 11,000 before the pandemic.
“If this trend continues, the United States will face a critical shortage of grounded China expertise within a decade as today’s specialists retire without replacement,” warned the report.
It highlighted various reasons for the decline, including a sharp decrease in federal funding for China-focussed programs and exchanges including Fulbright and the Critical Languages Scholarship, alongside a growing pressure for universities to limit engagement with Chinese institutions.
Meanwhile, heightened research security rules in STEM fields have impeded collaboration across all disciplines, while US scholars are increasingly deterred from China study by a widespread perception that it could prevent them obtaining security clearance from the US government, the report revealed.
According to USCET executive director Rosie Levine, there is no “clear evidence” that having experience in China hurts American applicants’ chances of passing a security clearance, but the uncertainty is shaping students’ study choices.
Innovation is happening in China whether American policy makers like it or not
Rosie Levine, US-China Education Trust (USCET)
“Among students, the fear is very real and is having real consequences – many students are avoiding programs in China out of ‘an abundance of caution’,” she told The PIE News.
“Meanwhile, the government can’t hire enough Americans with firsthand China experience to staff relevant offices,” added Levine, calling on policymakers to provide clearer guidance on programs and work opportunities that are permissible.
The study cites the latest Open Doors data from 2023/24, revealing there were just 1,749 American students in China, as compared to nearly 15,000 in 2011/12 – the highest level since records started.
The data reveals very little rebound in US mobility to China after the pandemic, with many schools failing to reopen China-based study programs after Covid or shifting them to Taiwan.
Moreover, several universities have stepped back from Chinese partnerships amid heightened scrutiny and pressure from the Trump administration, with The Guardian revealing an alleged shift in admissions practices at Purdue University automatically rejecting students from China.
Columbia University and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) were among the institutions identified for winding down Chinese partnerships, while the administration has accused Harvard of working with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Against this backdrop, the report notes that many Americans are opting to study Chinese language and culture in Taiwan and other Sinophone societies, which, it says, while valuable, “cannot replace insights gained by firsthand experience” of China.
It urges the government to publicly recognise the need to sustain America’s expertise on contemporary China, restore federal funding for China-focussed programs and provide more support for existing academic centres in China, as well as to establish a new US fellowship program.
While recognising “legitimate” feasibility and safety concerns of conducting research in China, the report notes that incidents affecting US students are “extremely rare” and that “many Chinese academic departments are still eager to support visiting American scholars”.
“Individual and institutional relationships remain an important pathway and are more effective than relying on assessments from abroad,” it urges.
As the number of US students going to China has dwindled, Chinese students remain an important source of international students in the US.
Though India surpassed China as America’s largest sending country in 2023, Chinese students comprised 22% of the US’s international student body last year, and the market has shown greater resilience against recent policy volatility disrupting F-1 visa issuance.
The report follows news of China topping the US in research and development spending last year, with Levine emphasising the country’s active recruitment of global talent as Chinese institutions improve their standing in science and technology ratings.
“Innovation is happening in China whether American policy makers like it or not,” said Levine, warning that without being on the ground, the US risked missing new developments, falling behind on emerging technologies and relying on outdated information.
“Having people there who can watch these innovations unfold firsthand, or even participate in that ecosystem, is a competitive advantage,” she added.
