US needs Chinese students in humanities, not sciences: diplomat

Published June 25, 2024
FILE PHOTO: Kurt Campbell, US White House coordinator for the Indo-Pacific, talks with a group of guests including U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Executive Vice President and Head of International Affairs Myron Brilliant in Washington, US, May 12, 2022 —  Reuters
FILE PHOTO: Kurt Campbell, US White House coordinator for the Indo-Pacific, talks with a group of guests including U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Executive Vice President and Head of International Affairs Myron Brilliant in Washington, US, May 12, 2022 — Reuters

WASHINGTON: The United States should welcome more students from China, but to study the humanities rather than sciences, the second-ranked US diplomat said on Monday, noting that US universities are limiting Chinese students’ access to sensitive technology given security concerns.

Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said not enough Americans were studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics. He said the US needed to recruit more international students for those fields, but from India, an increasingly important US security partner, and not China.

For years, Chinese students have made up the largest foreign student body in the US and totalled nearly 290,000 in the 2022-23 academic year.

But some in academia and civil society argue that deteriorating US-China relations and concerns about theft of expertise, have derailed scientific cooperation and subjected Chinese students to unwarranted suspicion.

“I would like to see more Chinese students coming to the United States to study humanities and social sciences, not particle physics,” Campbell told the Council on Foreign Relations think tank.

Campbell was asked about the China Initiative introduced by the Trump administration, intended to combat alleged Chinese espionage, which ended under the Biden administration after critics said it spurred racial profiling of Asian Americans.

Campbell said US universities had made “careful attempts” to support continuing higher education for Chinese students, but had also been “careful about the labs, some of the activities of Chinese students”.

“I do think it is possible to curtail and to limit certain kinds of access, and we have seen that generally, particularly in technological programmes across the United States,” he said.

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2024

Opinion

Editorial

Military option
Updated 21 Nov, 2024

Military option

While restoring peace is essential, addressing Balochistan’s socioeconomic deprivation is equally important.
HIV/AIDS disaster
21 Nov, 2024

HIV/AIDS disaster

A TORTUROUS sense of déjà vu is attached to the latest health fiasco at Multan’s Nishtar Hospital. The largest...
Dubious pardon
21 Nov, 2024

Dubious pardon

IT is disturbing how a crime as grave as custodial death has culminated in an out-of-court ‘settlement’. The...
Islamabad protest
Updated 20 Nov, 2024

Islamabad protest

As Nov 24 draws nearer, both the PTI and the Islamabad administration must remain wary and keep within the limits of reason and the law.
PIA uncertainty
20 Nov, 2024

PIA uncertainty

THE failed attempt to privatise the national flag carrier late last month has led to a fierce debate around the...
T20 disappointment
20 Nov, 2024

T20 disappointment

AFTER experiencing the historic high of the One-day International series triumph against Australia, Pakistan came...