The United States should welcome more students from China, but with a focus on the humanities rather than the sciences, according to Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell. He made this suggestion on Monday, acknowledging the concerns surrounding the potential transfer of sensitive technology and the need to limit Chinese students’ access to certain fields within American universities. Campbell noted a shortage of American students pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). He emphasized the need to recruit more international students in these fields, specifically from India, which he deemed an increasingly significant security partner for the US. For years, Chinese students have constituted the largest foreign student population in the United States, reaching almost 290,000 in the 2022/23 academic year. However, some in academia and civil society have expressed concerns about the deteriorating US-China relationship and the potential for intellectual property theft, leading to increased scrutiny of Chinese students. Campbell proposed a shift in focus, suggesting that “I would like to see more Chinese students coming to the United States to study humanities and social sciences, not particle physics.” His comments were made in response to questions about the “China Initiative,” a program implemented under the Trump administration to combat alleged Chinese espionage and intellectual property theft. This program was later discontinued by the Biden administration after criticism for potentially fostering racial profiling against Asian Americans. Campbell stated that American universities have made “careful attempts” to support the continued education of Chinese students while also exercising caution regarding their access to specific laboratories and activities. He acknowledged that “I do think it is possible to curtail and to limit certain kinds of access, and we have seen that generally, particularly in technological programs across the United States.” Addressing the potential shortfall in STEM students, Campbell rejected the idea of China as the sole source of talent, stating “I believe that the largest increase that we need to see going forward would be much larger numbers of Indian students that come to study in American universities on a range of technology and other fields.” Campbell emphasized the importance of maintaining connections between the US and China but attributed the decline in academic, business, and non-profit collaborations largely to Beijing’s actions. He stated, “It really has been China that has made it difficult for the kinds of activities that we would like to see sustaining,” adding that foreign executives and philanthropists have expressed concerns about personal security in China, leading to reluctance to engage in long-term stays.
