海角大神

Colleges, officials try to thaw effects of the US-China chill

Fan Rong crosses the University of Washington鈥檚 red-brick central plaza and steps into a lively lounge filled with students working on fall-quarter projects. A graduate student in civil engineering from China, she鈥檚 happy studying in the United States, and recommends it to all her friends back home.

Ms. Fan says she鈥檚 planning to stay on after graduating in 2021, joining tens of thousands of her fellow students from China. 鈥淚鈥檇 like to find an internship or job in Seattle,鈥� she says, noting that 鈥淪eattle has a lot of tech companies and we can collaborate with them.鈥�

Chinese students such as Ms. Fan are still flowing to the U.S. in record numbers, despite tensions in U.S.-China relations that have hampered exchanges and raised fears of visa restrictions. Chinese students in U.S. colleges, universities, and professional training reached 369,548 this year, an all-time high, according to data on the 2018-19 academic year released Monday by the Institute of International Education (IIE) nonprofit in New York. The overall number of Chinese students in the country has more than tripled over the past decade.

But as the two countries鈥� relations chill, and the rate of growth in enrollment continues to steadily slow聽鈥� from 29.9% in 2009-10 to just 1.7% in 2018-19聽鈥� officials and campuses are giving new attention to recruiting and welcoming foreign students, who are now a significant source of tuition for cash-strapped schools.

鈥淭here are pressures in both positive and negative directions. When factored together the result has been a softening of demand鈥� for U.S. education among Chinese students in the past five years, says Brad Farnsworth, vice president of the American Council on Education. Faced with slower increases in enrollments, some U.S. schools are struggling, particularly community colleges and regional public universities, says Mr. Farnsworth, whose organization is launching a public survey aimed at building community support for international students, and thereby strengthening the U.S. position as their top global destination.

Competition from other English-speaking countries, as well as from China鈥檚 own elite schools, has eroded the U.S lead. 鈥淐hinese universities continue to climb in the rankings. ... Some are really world class,鈥� says Mr. Farnsworth, who has taught in China.

Political rhetoric casting China as an enemy has also hurt student exchanges, Mr. Farnsworth believes, although he notes the slower growth began before the Trump administration. Beijing, for its part, this summer warned Chinese youths of the risks of studying and living in the U.S.

But with continued economic growth, China鈥檚 rising middle class can still afford the costly U.S. tuition, and many parents want their children to develop critical thinking skills that they view as lacking under China鈥檚 traditional system.聽Li Yiyang, a graduate student in statistics from Sichuan Province, says her family pushed her to study in the U.S. 鈥淢y parents were educated in China and didn鈥檛 feel it鈥檚 an energetic environment鈥� for learning, she says.

Ms. Fan, who graduated from China鈥檚 prestigious Tsinghua University, said she was drawn to study in the U.S. in part because of the real-world opportunities. At Tsinghua, she says 鈥渁ll the students and teachers respect academics more than industry experience. But here students find internships at an early stage and are thinking of entrepreneurial careers.鈥澛� 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽聽

Broadening appeal

Chinese students remain by far the largest contingent of the more than 1 million international students in the U.S. for the 2018-19 academic year 鈥� totaling more than those from the next six countries combined.聽 聽

Trump administration officials now say they seek to recruit even more top students from China 鈥� as well as India, Brazil, and other countries 鈥� as part of a global marketing campaign to broaden the international student presence at America鈥檚 4,700 colleges and universities.

鈥淲e have significant capacity to host many more students from around the world,鈥� said聽Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Marie聽Royce in a conference call last week with journalists about the data from IIE, noting that 70% of foreign students are concentrated at only 200 institutions, and 1 out of 3 is in California, Texas, or New York.

A major part of that campaign is an effort by Washington to ensure Chinese students feel welcomed, despite heightened concerns over Chinese espionage. In recent months, U.S. officials have warned that Chinese intelligence services have abused the visa process and co-opted scholars to try to gain access to sensitive research and intellectual property. But only a tiny fraction of Chinese student visa applicants 鈥� .0001%聽鈥� have been rejected on these grounds, Secretary Royce said in a July speech.聽

Asked about overall student visa approval rates, a State Department official wrote in an email that 鈥淲e do not provide specific statistics on denial rates for particular groups of students.鈥� The official reiterated that 鈥渘ational security is our top priority when adjudicating visa applications.鈥�

President Donald Trump emphasized that Chinese students are an asset during an Oval Office appearance with China鈥檚 Vice Premier Liu He last month. 鈥淲e have the greatest university system in the world, and we鈥檙e going to keep it that way.聽And one of the reasons it鈥檚 great is we have a lot of students from China,鈥� he said.

Apart from their academic strengths, Chinese students accounted for nearly $15 billion of the $45 billion that international students contributed to the U.S. economy in 2018, according to U.S. Department of Commerce data.

Beyond the classroom

Both Chinese and U.S. officials have stressed the importance of student exchanges to the bilateral relationship. 鈥淧eople-to-people [exchanges] are the core,鈥� says Qian Jin, deputy Chinese consul general in New York. 鈥淲e want more exchanges and interactions between the two peoples. We don鈥檛 want obstructions.鈥�

One way to promote bridge-building, U.S. officials say, is to encourage Chinese students here to break out of the social and information 鈥渂ubble鈥� created when they primarily interact with other Chinese students and mainland media.

At the University of Washington, which has more than 4,000 students from China enrolled on a campus of 54,000, a few students suggested the tensions in U.S.-China relations had led them to keep a low profile and avoid conflict, and one said he feared a new cold war would break out. But most indicate they are engaging with Americans and soaking up U.S. culture.

Josh Jiang, who earned an MBA and is working on a second master鈥檚 degree in information systems, says he 鈥渓oves Seattle.鈥� 鈥淎merican people treat me very well, and I have a bunch of friends here,鈥� he says. 鈥淚f my parents did not live in China, I would definitely want to live here.鈥�

Other students said they were embracing the U.S. style of education.

Eddie Chen, a lanky freshman from the northeast聽Heilongjiang province, says studying in the U.S. has helped him grow up, and he would recommend it. 鈥淵ou have to solve problems for yourself,鈥� he says. 鈥淵ou have to be independent.鈥�

Mr. Chen鈥檚 friend Yiyi Zheng nods in agreement, saying she would advise U.S. study for 鈥減eople who want to get out of their comfort zone and see the diversity of the world and different cultures.鈥澛�