The Trump administration has taken action to prevent Harvard University from enrolling international students, a move that has drawn significant attention and condemnation in China, where officials and commentators view it as a direct consequence of the escalating rivalry between Washington and Beijing.
A spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Friday, asserting that “China has consistently opposed the politicization of educational collaboration.” The spokesperson added that the US’s decision “will only tarnish its own image and reputation in the world.”
Echoing this sentiment, several commentators on Chinese social media platforms expressed similar views. One comment on the platform Weibo, akin to X, garnered considerable support, stating, “It’s fun to watch them destroy their own strength.” Another user, commenting on a widely viewed hashtag related to the news, wrote, “Trump comes to the rescue again. Recruiting international students is … the main way to attract top talent! After this road is cut off, will Harvard still be the same Harvard?”
The announcement by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) marks a clear intensification of a dispute between the prestigious Ivy League institution and the White House. This action aligns with a broader administration initiative to increase oversight of international students in the US as part of an ongoing immigration crackdown. The administration of President Donald Trump has reportedly revoked hundreds of student visas across the country under this initiative.
Harvard University and the Trump administration have been engaged in a protracted conflict in recent months, with the administration demanding alterations to the university’s campus operations. The government has specifically focused on foreign students and staff suspected of participating in contentious campus protests concerning the Israel-Hamas conflict. However, the revocation of enrollment for international students extends beyond a dispute between a single university and the US president, representing the latest development in a growing rift between the two global superpowers.
For years, China has been the leading source of international students in the United States. These extensive educational ties are being reshaped by an expanding geopolitical rivalry that has fueled an ongoing trade and technology competition.
In a statement released on Thursday, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem accused Harvard of “fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus.” The DHS statement also included allegations of connections between Harvard and Chinese institutions or individuals purportedly linked to military-related research, as well as with an entity previously blacklisted by the Trump administration for alleged human rights abuses. The statement referenced a recent letter from bipartisan US lawmakers to Harvard, requesting information regarding the university’s alleged “partnerships with foreign adversaries.”
Harvard University has not yet responded to CNN’s request for comment regarding these alleged partnerships. However, in a statement published on its website, the university affirmed its “commitment to maintaining our ability to host our international students and scholars, who hail from more than 140 countries and enrich the University and this nation.”
‘Absolute Shock’
The ability of elite American universities to attract top-tier students from across the globe, many of whom subsequently remain in the United States, has long been considered a critical factor in America’s scientific and technological leadership, as well as a significant source of revenue for these institutions.
The decision by the DHS prohibits Harvard from enrolling international students for the upcoming academic year and mandates that current foreign students must transfer to other universities to maintain their legal status in the US. International students constitute over a quarter of Harvard’s total student population, with students from China representing the largest international group, according to data from Harvard’s International Office website.
Among the affected students is Fangzhou Jiang, a 30-year-old student at Harvard’s Kennedy School. Jiang expressed disbelief upon learning that his university status was in jeopardy, immediately raising concerns about the validity of his visa. “I was absolutely shocked for quite a few minutes. I just never anticipated that the administration could go this far,” said Jiang, who also founded an education consulting company that assists foreign students in gaining admission to elite American universities. He added, “Ever since I was young, when it comes to the best universities in the world, from a young age, I learned that it’s Harvard.”
Ivy League institutions such as Harvard, Princeton, and Yale hold significant prestige in middle-class China, where American universities have been regarded for years as pathways to a distinguished education and a competitive advantage in China’s rigorous career landscape. China was the top source of international students in the US for 15 consecutive years starting in 2009, before being surpassed by India just last year, according to data from Open Doors, a US Department of State-supported database tracking international student enrollment.
Over the years, US-China educational collaborations have fostered close relationships between academics and institutions from both countries. US universities and industries are widely acknowledged to have benefited from their capacity to attract highly talented individuals from China and other nations. Harvard, for instance, has educated prominent Chinese figures, including former Vice Premier Liu He, who played a pivotal role in negotiating President Trump’s phase one trade agreement during his first term.
However, these ties have faced increasing scrutiny in recent years as the US has identified an increasingly assertive and powerful China as a technological competitor and a potential threat to its own superpower status.
More than 277,000 Chinese students pursued studies in the US during the 2023 to 2024 academic year, a decrease from over 372,000 in the peak year of 2019-2020. This decline coincides with the Covid-19 pandemic but also reflects growing tensions between the two governments. Simultaneously, rising nationalist sentiment and a heightened emphasis on national security within China have contributed to a shifting perception regarding the relative value of American versus Chinese universities.
Reverse Brain-Drain
The Department of Homeland Security’s claims regarding Harvard’s institutional connections to entities and individuals with links to military-related research represent the latest indication of deep-seated concerns in Washington about China’s access to sensitive and military-applicable American technology through academic channels.
To address the perceived threat of Chinese students engaging in espionage on US soil, President Trump implemented a ban during his first term that effectively prevented graduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields from Chinese universities believed to have ties to the military from obtaining visas to the US. His administration also initiated the now-defunct China Initiative, a national security program aimed at countering China’s intelligence activities in the US, including those focused on acquiring emerging technologies from research universities.
The China Initiative, which drew comparisons to the McCarthy era’s anti-Communist “red scare” of the 1950s, was terminated by the Biden administration following widespread criticism regarding perceived overreach and allegations that it fostered suspicion and bias against innocent Chinese Americans.
President Trump’s broader tightening of US immigration policy during his second term has now generated a new wave of insecurity and uncertainty for numerous international students and educational institutions. While these concerns are shared by international students from various countries, the heightened tensions between the US and China have placed additional pressure on Chinese students and scholars, and the impact is already evident. Over the past year, CNN has found that at least a dozen high-profile academics with Chinese backgrounds who were working in the US have returned to China and accepted positions at prominent universities there.
For some students at the beginning of their academic and professional journeys, this latest development creates significant uncertainty about their future plans. Among them is Sophie Wu, a 22-year-old from China’s southern tech hub of Shenzhen, who had been accepted into a graduate program at Harvard for the upcoming fall semester after completing her undergraduate degree in the US. Wu reported feeling “numb” upon hearing the news. “I did not expect that the administration would make such an irrational decision, and I also feel that it is more of a retaliation than a policy decision,” she told CNN. “International students are being held hostage for some political purpose.”
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