The era of academic exchange that began in the 1970s was born out of diplomacy. “People were curious about us, inviting us to their homes,” one former student recalled.
In 1987, when Haipei Shue arrived in the United States as a graduate sociology student at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, he received the warmest of welcomes.
“People were curious about us, inviting us to their homes, wanting to be friends,” Mr. Shue said on Thursday, describing an openness that defined his early years in a country many in China viewed as a beacon of opportunity.
“It was an extraordinary time,” he added.
That era, initiated under President Jimmy Carter as a form of soft power diplomacy, now stands in stark contrast to the Trump administration’s more adversarial stance.
This week, the administration announced it would aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students with ties to the Chinese Communist Party or those studying broadly defined “critical fields.” It also plans to enhance vetting for future student visa applicants, including scrutinizing social media posts.
These policies are expected to significantly reduce the number of Chinese students—long a fixture on American campuses—studying in the U.S. In 2024, there were approximately 277,000.
The Trump administration argues that China exploits U.S. universities to advance its military and technological capabilities, suggesting that some students may pose risks of espionage or intellectual property theft.
“We are using every tool at our disposal to know who wants to enter this country and whether they should be allowed in,” said Tammy Bruce, a State Department spokesperson.
“Every visa adjudication is a national security decision.”
To Mr. Shue, now 64 and president of United Chinese Americans, a civic group based in Washington, D.C., the policy change is deeply disappointing. His journey to the U.S. in the 1980s symbolized a period of warming ties between the two superpowers.
He remembered the generosity of Americans. A wealthy businessman with ties to the Reagan administration, David Scott, funded his education through a foundation.
That era, Shue recalled, was marked by bipartisan support for Chinese students, culminating in the Chinese Student Protection Act of 1992, which granted legal residency to thousands of Chinese nationals after the Tiananmen Square massacre.
“It was overwhelming support, care, and concern,” said Mr. Shue, who helped advocate for the legislation and has long supported greater freedom and reform in China.
He described the Trump administration’s actions as a betrayal of America’s historic role as a “beacon for humanity.”
The history of Chinese students in the U.S. is long and complex. It dates back to the 1850s, when Yung Wing became the first Chinese graduate of an American university (Yale College). As Robert Kapp, a retired historian of China and former president of the U.S.-China Business Council, noted, early students sought Western knowledge to help modernize China.
The normalization of U.S.-China relations in the 1970s under President Richard Nixon and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai ushered in a new era of academic exchange. Later, China agreed to send thousands of students to the U.S.—a number that eventually grew into the hundreds of thousands annually.
President Carter once said, “Why don’t you send some students to the United States?”
Deng Xiaoping, China’s leader, reportedly replied, “How about 10,000?”—and the program took off.
For China, sending students abroad was a crucial step in modernization. For the U.S., it was a soft-power strategy.
The 1980s and 1990s saw a surge of talented Chinese students, many of whom made lasting contributions to American academia, science, and business. The student demographic also shifted—from mostly graduate students in the 1980s to increasing numbers of undergraduates today.
“Opening up education was important for establishing ties and building bridges,” said Professor David Bachman, an international relations expert at the University of Washington.
But today, he warned, “I can imagine there’ll be very few Chinese students here in 10 years.”
The exchange is declining in both directions. Amid rising geopolitical tensions, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of American students in China fell from around 11,000 in 2019 to fewer than 1,000 in 2024, according to Rosie Levine, executive director of the U.S.-China Education Trust.
President Trump’s latest move, Levine said, may prompt Beijing to retaliate, further reducing American student presence in China—along with U.S. understanding of a key global power.
While she acknowledged national security concerns, Levine emphasized the need for nuance.
“These policies are so broad,” she said, “that they don’t give U.S. officers the ability to effectively distinguish between individuals who pose security risks and those who are genuinely seeking educational opportunities.”
She also questioned the new focus on ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
“There are 99 million CCP members in China,” Levine said. “Being a member is a poor determinant of someone’s intentions.”
For Mr. Shue, the moment feels personal. After hearing the administration’s announcement, he said he couldn’t sleep—troubled by the contrast between the America of decades past and the one he sees today.
“It’s something I can barely wrap my head around,” he said.
“How did we deteriorate to this point—where foreign students, especially those from China, are viewed as potential liabilities rather than assets?”
- The New York Times first published the article.
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