Xi Jinping’s goal of drawing 50,000 US students to China ‘ambitious’ amid tense geopolitics

BEIJING – Chinese President Xi Jinping wants to welcome 50,000 young Americans to the country on exchange and study programmes over the next five years, but he may not get his wish.

A tense relationship between the two powers and negative portrayals of either side in both countries’ media are among the hurdles.

The strict measures and sweeping government policies from a Covid-19 pandemic do not help, while difficulty in obtaining work visas post-graduation in China has also played a part, students and academics told The Straits Times.

Mr Xi’s 50,000 target, announced during his visit to the US in November 2023, was brought up recently during US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to China in April. The latter emphasised the point of strengthening people-to-people ties while Mr Xi reiterated his hope for more American students.

But following the sharp drop in numbers after the Covid-19 pandemic, reaching the highs of more than a decade ago when there were 15,000-odd American students in China seems “extremely ambitious”, said Dr Harris Doshay, assistant director of research and writing at University of California San Diego’s 21st Century China Centre.

“Geopolitical tensions and negative media coverage about China in US press have made it a less appealing place for students to go, despite its obvious importance, and Chinese leadership can’t manufacture demand in American college students,” he added.

Statistics from an Open Doors report, published by New York-based non-profit Institute for International Education, show that in the academic year starting 2018, there were 11,639 American students in China. But in 2021, the figure was only 211.

To reach the target, numbers need to return to pre-pandemic levels but academics said this seems unlikely.

Dr Amy Gadsden, associate vice-provost of global initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania, said it would be “tough” but her university is committed to encouraging students to return to China.

US students are aware of the tense relations, causing anxiety about travelling to China, added Dr Gadsden who is also executive director of Penn China Initiatives.

She pointed out that student interest in other regions has rebounded post-pandemic.

“Why hasn’t it rebounded in China? Because China took such draconian measures during the pandemic for so long, cementing an impression that it is an outlier in the global community,” she said.

At a talk in December 2023, US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns said the number of US students in China had rebounded slightly to about 700.

This increase, while a good sign, seems far off from the 50,000 goal.

International relations professor Shi Yinhong, director of the Centre of American Studies at China’s Renmin University, said there is an increasing negative image held by American students.

The tightening political and political-cultural environment in China, which includes growing anti-US nationalism, has also been reported frequently by US media, he added.

There is keen interest on both sides to reinstate student flows to pre-pandemic levels but some things will have to change for that to happen.

Associate Professor Chong Ja Ian, from the National University of Singapore’s political science department, said the Chinese side will have to dial back its harsh rhetoric about the US.

“These may intend to target politicians, diplomats and businesses but can be seen by everyone,” he added.

Dr Gadsden said China should consider adding an internship visa so that students could come in summer to work for local companies and organisations.

In end April, a new Study in Beijing+ initiative was announced as a collaboration between the local universities and municipal authorities to facilitate internship and work opportunities for international students by easing requirements for work permits.

“If we want students to travel to China, we have to create the curricular and extracurricular programmes that can enable that, and that means support for travel, but also for instruction and development of faculty. It’s not going to happen on its own,” stressed Dr Gadsden.

Professor Jia Qingguo, director of the Institute for Global Cooperation and Understanding at Peking University and a government adviser, earlier this year put forth a slew of suggestions to China’s top advisory body to attract more global students.

Apart from internship opportunities and lower thresholds for work visas for those who study in China, he called for efforts to eliminate concerns about academic research.

Prof Jia also suggested solving the practical problems foreign students in China face, such as allowing registered foreign devices access to foreign websites that are blocked, simplifying identity verification procedures and facilitating the opening of bank accounts for short-term foreigners.

Eight Chinese universitiesapproached by ST including Tsinghua, Peking and Fudan did not respond on their efforts to increase American enrolment and exchanges.

Two institutions with cross-country ties – NYU Shanghai and Hopkins-Nanjing Centre – said they had healthy numbers, but did not target American students specifically out of the overall international student pool.

Hopkins-Nanjing Centre co-director Adam Webb said while numbers have not been finalised for the next entering class, they appear to be above pre-pandemic typical numbers for a two-year Master of Arts in International Studies degree.

“This illustrates the continuing strong interest in study at this bilingual campus in China, after the significant disruption during the pandemic and the transitional cycle immediately after China finally reopened,” he added.

‘A life-changing experience’

However, even after overcoming the inertia of moving across the globe, US students face some issues after arrival.

For 27-year-old Jacob Dehart Harris, the rigid Covid-19 restrictions on international students meant he graduated a year late in 2023. He logged on online from home in the US for three semesters, and then took a year off, as a time-zone difference and uncertainty surrounding in-person class resumption further complicated matters.

Mr Jacob Dehart Harris, 27, who studied at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, eventually found a job in Suzhou, where he lives now. PHOTO: COURTESY OF JACOB DEHART HARRIS

After graduating, he found a Shanghai-based design consultancy willing to hire him as an intern, but had to turn down the opportunity as he could not procure an internship visa, he said.

Wanting to remain in China, he took a job at a materials company in Suzhou doing branding strategy, pivoting from his original area of interest in industrial design. He is the only American on-site employee.

Mr Harris’ interest in China started as a student in a Utah charter school that offered Mandarin classes, before doing a couple of semesters abroad in Beijing while enrolled in an American college.

He eventually transferred to Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University to finish his industrial design degree.

“It was a life-changing experience. It’s not for everybody but it benefited me,” he said.

Mr Jacob Dehart Harris (back row, rightmost), with his American schoolmates from Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, before the Covid-19 pandemic. PHOTO: COURTESY OF JACOB DEHART HARRIS

He referred to those back home without first-hand experience living in China as “armchair scholars”. “What do they know if they don’t actually spend time here?” he added.

For Ms Abigail Berman, 23, there are some minor annoyances to living in China such as needing a VPN to connect to certain sites, or not being able to access certain services without a Chinese identity card.

She first got a taste of life in China through a year-long study-abroad programme with a high school in Beijing.

Ms Abigail Berman (left), 23, seeing the sights in China after deciding to pursue further studies here. PHOTO: COURTESY OF ABIGAIL BERMAN

She eventually decided to do her university studies in China, driven also by an interest in East Asian pop culture and wanting to see China for herself. She is the only American student at the new media arts department at Beijing Film Academy.

“There’s so much negative news and ideas about China, it seemed like a big scary mystery,” she said.

Both she and Mr Harris said they did not have any adverse experiences, despite US-China tensions.

Ms Berman said she likes the diverse cultures in China like the different languages and cuisines in the provinces, and the conveniences of daily life.

Ms Abigail Berman with an American schoolmate during their high school year-long study abroad programme in Beijing. PHOTO: COURTESY OF ABIGAIL BERMAN

She described a school trip to Yunnan in her first year as a favourite memory: “Being in the mountains by the tiny villages, I couldn’t communicate despite being able to speak Mandarin as the locals used another ethnic minority language.

“Meeting these people from totally different backgrounds, I don’t think I could have imagined myself a couple of years ago been in such a situation.”