The number of American college students studying in China has dropped to the lowest point in more than 20 years: in the 2020-21 academic year, there are only 382 students left, a sharp drop of 97% compared to about 12,000 in the 2018-19 academic year, and far lower than 10 years ago Nearly 15,000 people at the peak.

The picture shows Communication University of China.

(Associated Press file photo)

[International News Center/Comprehensive Report] Since China has implemented a strict "clearing" lockdown policy against the Wuhan pneumonia (new coronavirus disease, COVID-19) epidemic in the past few years, the latest statistics show that the number of American college students studying in China has dropped. To the lowest point in more than 20 years: In the 2020-21 school year, there are only 382 people left, which is a 97% drop from about 12,000 people in the 2018-19 school year, and far lower than the nearly 15,000 people in the peak period 10 years ago .

The Wall Street Journal reported on the 18th that although China has reopened its doors in January this year, experts believe that as geopolitical tensions intensify and U.S.-China relations deteriorate sharply, it will take at least several years before the number of U.S. students studying in China rebounds to pre-pandemic levels. level, and it is uncertain whether it will be able to return to the previous level.

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According to reports, the number of American students studying in China has declined since the early 2010s.

Some scholars have blamed the start of a slowdown in China's economic growth and Beijing's curtailment of foreign exchanges.

After the Wuhan pneumonia epidemic swept the world, hundreds of thousands of American students stopped studying abroad, not only for China, but also for other countries.

According to the U.S. State Department and the Institute of International Education (IIE), the number of U.S. students studying abroad in the 2020-21 school year has dropped by 96%.

In Japan, the number of American students studying abroad in the 2020-21 school year has plummeted to fewer than 130 from nearly 9,000 two years ago.

At the same time, during the epidemic, the number of Chinese students studying in the United States in the 2020-21 school year was nearly 318,000, which was also 14% lower than that of two years ago.

Cameron Johnson, a professor of management at New York University's Shanghai International Campus, said that it is not yet possible to see a significant increase in the number of American students returning to China in the future.

Jensen, who has been working in China since 1999, pointed out that in addition to worrying that China may impose border controls again, the United States is increasingly distrusting China, which is also one of the reasons why American students are reluctant to study in China.

David Moser, a professor of linguistics at Capital Normal University in Beijing, said that as the American public's perception of China deteriorates, more American universities may find it difficult to continue to implement short-term study abroad programs. It's gone forever."