Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell announced on Monday that the U.S. faces a shortage of students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). To address this gap, he emphasized the need to attract more international students in these fields, specifically from India, a growing U.S. security ally, rather than from China.
For years, Chinese students have been the largest group of international students in the U.S., with nearly 290,000 enrolled in the 2022/23 academic year. However, worsening U.S.-China relations and fears of intellectual property theft have hindered scientific collaboration and led to increased scrutiny and suspicion of Chinese students, according to some academics and civil society members.
"I would like to see more Chinese students come to the United States to study humanities and social sciences rather than particle physics," Campbell stated at the Council on Foreign Relations think tank.
When questioned about the Trump administration's China Initiative—designed to combat Chinese espionage and intellectual property theft but criticized for leading to racial profiling of Asian Americans—Campbell noted that U.S. universities had made "careful attempts" to continue supporting Chinese students in higher education. However, they have been "cautious about the labs and activities involving Chinese students."
"I believe it is possible to restrict and limit certain types of access, and this has generally been observed, especially in technological programs across the United States," Campbell said.
Campbell acknowledged that some suggest China is the primary source to fill the shortage of science students. However, he believes the U.S. should focus on significantly increasing the number of Indian students studying technology and other fields in American universities.
He emphasized the importance of maintaining connections between China and the U.S., while pointing out that Beijing's actions have largely strained academic, business, and non-profit sector ties. "China has made it challenging for the kinds of activities we wish to sustain," Campbell said, adding that foreign executives and philanthropists are wary of long-term stays in China due to concerns about personal security.