U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on May 28 that the Donald Trump administration will "aggressively" revoke visas for Chinese students as part of its ongoing efforts to limit the number of international students allowed to study in the United States. This decision followed Rubio's directive to U.S. embassies worldwide to halt the issuance of new student visas.

Additionally, the White House has accused some of America's top universities of endorsing pro-Palestinian movements and harboring anti-Semitic sentiments, leading to the freezing of hundreds of millions of dollars in funding and the deportation of students, alongside the revocation of thousands of visas.

An Institute of International Education report indicates that over 1.1 million international students were enrolled in U.S. higher education for the 2023-24 academic year. Many U.S. universities depend on tuition fees from these students, as they generally pay higher fees, to secure a substantial part of their funding.

Among these international students, 280,000 are from China. At a regular press conference on May 29, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said the U.S. decision to revoke Chinese student visas is unjustified and has harmed their legitimate rights and interests. China firmly opposes this move and has already lodged representations with the American side, she added.

Shortly after the U.S. Government's announcement of the restrictive measures, the top education official of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region called on local universities to "take positive measures" to attract "outstanding students from all over the world."

The U.S. remains the leading nation in basic research, underscored by impressive statistics on scientific achievements. Since 2000, American researchers have been awarded 112 Nobel Prizes in chemistry, medicine and physics, with 45 of these laureates, or 40 percent, being immigrants. From 1901 to 2023, immigrants received 36 percent of the U.S. Nobel Prizes in chemistry, medicine and physics, totaling 115 out of 319 awards.

Finding and developing local and international talent in scientific work is crucial to making discoveries and inventions. The American educational and scientific community has had the unique ability to attract talented people from all over the world, not only because of generous research funds but mainly because of its sound academic environment.

Until recently, the remarkable achievements of scientists at leading U.S. universities confirmed this. With its efforts, the current U.S. administration is "killing the last goose that lays golden eggs."

After the recent restriction of funding for scientific and technological research, the current limitation on attracting foreign talent to America may "drive the last nail into the coffin" of U.S. leadership.

By prohibiting Chinese students from studying in the U.S., the Trump administration is in fact fostering the advancement of education quality in China and fueling China's transformation to a prominent scientific and educational powerhouse. 

In light of the considerable concern among top professors and researchers in the U.S. regarding education funding cuts and decreased scientific research, China ought to proactively draw these academic leaders to teach and work at prestigious Chinese universities and research organizations. BR

The author is former prime minister of Kyrgyzstan, a distinguished professor of the Belt and Road School at Beijing Normal University and author of the book Central Asia's Economic Rebirth in the Shadow of the New Great Game 

Copyedited by G.P. Wilson

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