Top US officials have expressed a preference for Chinese students to study humanities and social sciences in the United States, while suggesting that Indian students are better suited for pursuing science-related disciplines. American experts have stated that such recommendations have at least two advantages.
On June 24, Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell stated during an event at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York that U.S. universities are limiting Chinese students’ access to sensitive technological disciplines for security reasons.
“I hope to see more Chinese students coming to the U.S. to study humanities and social sciences, rather than particle physics,” Campbell remarked. He added that the U.S. lacks sufficient individuals studying science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and needs to enroll more international students in these fields, expecting a significant increase in Indian students who will come to study a variety of technical and other disciplines at American universities.
June Teufel Dreyer, a senior expert on U.S.-China relations and political science professor at the University of Miami, described the U.S. policy shift as a “win-win situation.” She noted that it not only protects American technological intellectual property but also helps dispel the demonizing propaganda against the U.S. by the Chinese Communist Party. Dreyer explained that if Chinese students study humanities rather than science disciplines, the U.S. won’t have to worry as much about scientific data and technology being misappropriated to China.
“At the same time, Chinese students will gain an understanding of American democracy and culture and correct some of the misconceptions they have learned in China that disparage the U.S.,” Dreyer added.
Campbell emphasized the need for the U.S. to recruit more Indian international students in the field of science, a move supported by Professor Dreyer who stated, “India is a democratic country with good relations with the U.S. The U.S. is not concerned about them stealing technology. Additionally, Indian students are often diligent and studious, thus contributing to the improvement of the quality of U.S. universities.”
The U.S. government has issued warnings that the country’s cutting-edge technology industry is increasingly becoming a target for Chinese intellectual property theft and infiltration.
A report in the Chinese state-owned media outlet China Daily on June 22 claimed that another four Chinese science and engineering students who had traveled to the U.S. were interrogated and deported by U.S. authorities. These four students all had backgrounds in science and engineering, with two focusing on artificial intelligence.
Law enforcement officers are particularly concerned about whether Chinese international students have political backgrounds as members of the Chinese Communist Party and whether they have research backgrounds related to computing.
According to a report by Bloomberg in May, starting this year, over 20 Chinese international students entering the U.S. have been subjected to lengthy interrogations, electronic device searches including phones and computers, had their student visas revoked, and were informed that they are barred from entry to the U.S. for five years.
In July 2020, the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested four Chinese citizens who were posing as ordinary graduate students but were actually officers in the Chinese military. One of them, Wang Xin, was working in a medical research lab funded by the National Institutes of Health at the University of California, San Francisco. Wang eventually admitted to being a lieutenant colonel in the People’s Liberation Army and employed at a Chinese military lab, leading to his expulsion. Another arrested Chinese individual, Zhao Kaikai, was studying machine learning and artificial intelligence at the School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering at Indiana University.
Beyond academia, in response to the threat of Chinese espionage, technology companies in Silicon Valley are intensifying their security screenings of employees and potential hires. According to a report by the Financial Times in June, companies like Google and notable startups like OpenAI have enhanced security checks for their employees.
During the Trump administration, the U.S. introduced a program called the China Initiative aimed at combating Chinese espionage and intellectual property theft in the U.S. However, the Biden administration halted the initiative, as critics argued that it fueled racial discrimination against Asian Americans.
Professor Dreyer stated that the U.S.’ vigilance against Chinese students studying advanced technology disciplines is not driven by racism; she hopes that “U.S.-China student exchanges will help improve U.S.-China relations.”
The Chinese military has established its own network of relationships with technical and scientific universities to acquire technology from other countries. In 2021, an in-depth study on Chinese military activities revealed the scale and global reach of their technology theft operations. Alex Joske, a China expert at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, found that as of 2018, the Chinese military had sponsored over 2,500 military scientists and engineers, sending them as students or visiting scholars to technologically advanced countries like Australia.
“This kind of cooperation… is often inadvertently supported by taxpayer funds,” Joske wrote, pointing out that in Australia and the UK, some universities continue to operate under a policy of appeasement deliberately collaborating with Chinese military entities on technology. “Almost all the military scientists dispatched to the West are CCP members who return to China on time,” Joske concluded.