He noted that U.S. universities are already limiting Chinese students’ access to sensitive technology due to security concerns.
According to Campbell, the US should also welcome more international students from China, but they should be studying the humanities rather than the sciences: “I would like to see more Chinese students coming to study the humanities and social sciences, not particle physics.”
According to the Open Doors report released by the State Department and the Institute of International Education, there will be 289,500 Chinese international students enrolled in the 2022-23 academic year, up from more than 370,000 in the 2019-20 academic year.
Indian students make up the second largest group, increasing 35% year-on-year to 268,900 in 2022-23.
Although she could benefit from Washington’s preferential treatment of Chinese humanities majors, communications major Julia Zhu said she found Campbell’s comments “arrogant.”
“His speech defined other countries’ roles in the international order from a position of superiority,” said Zhu, who studies at Shanghai International Studies University, one of China’s leading foreign studies universities.
“His argument is that India is already democratic and Indians want to come to America and work for America. In contrast, the Chinese need to be re-educated through the American humanities,” she said.
Zhu is also not convinced Campbell truly welcomes Chinese humanities students: “You can’t trust words. I want to see policies actually implemented. If he really wants to welcome humanities students, he should at least lower tuition fees.”
Mandy Wang, whose 15-year-old son is a middle school student in Beijing, said she was extremely worried that tensions and the tech race between the two countries would worsen and take a toll on Chinese students planning to study in the United States.
“It is my son’s dream to study STEM in the United States, home to some of the best universities in the world. He has a keen interest in mathematics and physics and is excited about revolutionary change that can benefit the entire world,” she said.
“Science should know no borders and should not be subject to narrow political objectives.”
Wang said he was already outraged by friends’ stories of Chinese STEM students being subjected to strict scrutiny when applying for visas and entering the U.S. “They shouldn’t be treated like that.”
Academics in both countries have complained about interrogations and searches of laptops and phones as Washington and Beijing trade blame over concerns of intellectual property theft and espionage.
Jack Lee, a telecommunications engineering major, said his university is on Washington’s “entity list” of sanctioned organizations, so he and other students didn’t include the U.S. in their graduate school application plans.
According to an employment report released by Li’s university last year, fewer than 70 students from his university chose to further their studies overseas, most of them to Britain and Australia.
Li said the U.S. need not worry about the motives of Chinese students: “Most of our teachers are busy running their own businesses and making money.”
01:57
China’s Chang’e-6 mission returns to Earth with first samples from the far side of the moon
China’s Chang’e-6 mission returns to Earth with first samples from the far side of the moon
He added that most of his tutors did not care about their students’ academic performance, much less would ask them to steal intellectual property from other countries.
Gary Shuai, managing director of Weichen Education, a Beijing-based organization that helps students study abroad, said stricter vetting of Chinese students could be a double-edged sword for the United States.
Shuai warned that Campbell’s comments could be a precursor to new measures to restrict the entry of Chinese nationals into certain academic fields.
“Corresponding policies and measures, such as stricter visa screening and restrictions on research projects, may be introduced to restrict the study and research of Chinese students in science and engineering fields,” he said.
Shuai said the comments from U.S. authorities might encourage some young students to consider switching to social sciences or business, while others might apply to universities in other countries.
“Chinese students have made significant contributions to scientific research in the United States. These restrictions [would] This not only impacts individual Chinese students, but could also lead to a talent drain and reduced innovation potential in U.S. science and academia.”
