China calls for protections for students in US after congressional panel
demands data from colleges
[March 21, 2025]
BY CHRISTOPHER BODEEN
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Beijing on Thursday demanded protections for
Chinese students in the U.S. after a congressional panel asked six
American universities to hand over a large amount of detailed
information on their Chinese students, citing national security
concerns.
A letter sent to the universities, including Stanford and Carnegie
Mellon, alleged that the Chinese government was embedding researchers in
top American institutions to gain direct access to sensitive
technologies.
In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Chinese
students account for about one-quarter of all international students in
the U.S. and that their activities have promoted “the economic
prosperity and technological development of the U.S.”
“This is in the interest of both parties," Mao told reporters at a daily
briefing. "We urge the U.S. to stop overstretching the concept of
national security, effectively protect the legitimate rights and
interests of Chinese students, and not impose discriminatory restrictive
measures on Chinese students.”
Her remarks came a day after John Moolenaar, chair of the House Select
Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, sent a letter to six colleges
requesting information on Chinese students enrolled in advanced science
and technology programs. He accused the institutions of putting American
research at risk in exchange for financial incentives.
The colleges named in Moolenaar's letter were Carnegie Mellon
University, Purdue University, Stanford University, the University of
Illinois, the University of Maryland, and the University of Southern
California.
“The Chinese Communist Party has established a well-documented,
systematic pipeline to embed researchers in leading U.S. institutions,
providing them direct exposure to sensitive technologies with dual-use
military applications,” Moolenaar wrote in a letter to Farnam Jahanian,
president of Carnegie Mellon University.
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“America’s student visa system has become a Trojan horse for
Beijing, providing unrestricted access to our top research
institutions and posing a direct threat to our national security, it
added. If left unaddressed, this trend will continue to displace
American talent, compromise research integrity, and fuel China’s
technological ambitions at our expense.”
The letter requested information including the Chinese students'
sources of funding, the types of research they're involved in, what
schools they previously attended, and “a country-by-country
breakdown of applicants, admittances, and enrollments at your
university.”
Most Chinese students enrolled in U.S. undergraduate programs pay
full tuition, making them an important source of funding for many
universities. Many of the students do not remain in the U.S. after
college graduation but return to China, where they hope a U.S.
degree will land them a good job. But foreign science and
engineering doctorate recipients, including those from China, are
more likely to stay in the U.S. for their postdoc or employment,
according to the National Science Foundation.
Last week, a Republican lawmaker introduced a bill seeking to ban
Chinese students from studying in U.S. schools.
In January, the University of Michigan said it was is ending its
partnership with a prominent Chinese university, a few months after
five Chinese students in the joint program were charged over their
suspicious activities outside a remote military site.
In a letter to a congressman, Santa Ono, president of the University
of Michigan, said following a thorough review the university has
initiated the six-month process to “officially end the partnership”
with Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
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