The China-US Higher Education Dialogue, held in New York in September, reiterated the importance of cooperation in the field of higher education and regarded educational ties as a significant pillar in the China-US bilateral relationship.
The China-US Higher Education Dialogue, held in New York in September, reiterated the importance of cooperation in the field of higher education and regarded educational ties as a significant pillar in the China-US bilateral relationship.
The China Education Association for International Exchange and the Institute of International Education issued a joint statement on November 13 to consolidate the results of the US-China Higher Education Dialogue.
The China-US Higher Education Dialogue, held in New York in September, reiterated the importance of cooperation in the field of higher education and regarded educational ties as a significant pillar in the China-US bilateral relationship.
The discussion focused on understanding existing problems and proposing pathways for addressing future challenges. The joint statement emphasized that the two sides engaged in frank and honest conversations about areas of concern in each country.
The joint statement highlighted that the dialogue resulted in consensus, particularly in cultural communication and collaboration between higher education institutions.
Both parties affirmed their commitments to support the two-way flow of students, teachers, scholars, researchers, and administrative staff members from universities.
The two organizations plan to promote opportunities for short-term exchange programs, internships, summer schools, cultural visits, and research fellowships. Additionally, they proposed the establishment of a China-US Education Cooperation Consultative Committee.
China has discreetly recommenced its efforts to attract international chip experts as the United States tightens its regulations on the semiconductor sector.
Previously, between 2008 and 2018, China executed the Thousand Talents Plan (TTP) to enlist foreign-trained scientists, causing concerns for the US around potential threats to its technological dominance.
The TTP was shelved in 2018 amid US investigations. However, China has since revived the initiative with a different name and structure, aiming to bolster its technological proficiency in line with its broader tech advancement mission.
In a comprehensive review of over 500 government documents from 2019 to 2023, Reuters unveiled this revamped recruitment drive, revealing enticing incentives such as housing subsidies and sizable signing bonuses ranging from 3 to 5 million yuan ($420,000 to $700,000).
Recently, American campuses in China have faced a combination of logistical, geopolitical, and economic challenges, raising questions about the balance of risk and reward.
Professor Denis Simon of UNC-Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School said running a campus in China has become increasingly difficult due to shifting bilateral ties, altered political climate, academic freedom concerns, and pandemic chaos. He noted that universities must make significant investments in their campuses to manage joint venture schools, “which are only going to get more complex.”
In the past decade, there has been a consistent increase in the number of mainland Chinese students studying abroad, reaching a peak of 710,000 in 2019. The growth has slowed during the initial phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, though the extent of the decline remains uncertain.
According to the Open Doors Report by the Institute of International Education, new Chinese scholars studying in the US dropped by 10.6 percent in 2019-20, 38.7 percent in 2020-21, and 26.1 percent in 2021-22. Current data beyond 2019 is yet to be released by China’s Ministry of Education.
