Why next year will be ‘critical’ in China’s efforts to attract students from the US

Academic freedom, visa worries, costs and propaganda are among concerns American youth have about China, US business group says

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As tensions persist between geopolitical rivals China and the US, people-to-people exchanges are seen as increasingly crucial in helping to maintain links between the two countries. Photo: China News Service/VCG via Getty Images

Published: 10:00pm, 12 Dec 2024Updated: 12:09am, 13 Dec 2024

The year ahead will be pivotal for an initiative that encourages young Americans to study in China as Beijing tries to ramp up people-to-people exchanges, according to a leading American business group.

As ties between the two countries remain strained ahead of the imminent return of US president-elect Donald Trump, both countries have been urged to prioritise and expand partnerships at the university level for US students to study long-term in China, according to a report released by the American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China) to its members last month.

During a visit to the US in November last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that China would welcome 50,000 young Americans on exchange and study programmes over the next five years.

The second year of the programme would be “critical in scaling the initiative” through improved partnerships and greater institutional collaboration, the report said.

“Next year will show us whether the momentum gathered this year has been successful in rekindling interest in China as a destination for study,” AmCham China president Michael Hart said on Wednesday, adding that the initiative had shown some progress in its first year.

US President Joe Biden welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping to an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation event in California in November 2023. Photo: AFP/Getty Images/TNS

US student enrolment in China saw “modest growth”, according to the report, but most of the US high school and student visitors to China had taken part in short-term programmes, typically lasting from one week to a summer, and were not as comprehensive as longer exchanges.