Analysis
The newest front in the U.S.–China rivalry is unfolding on American campuses. Chinese students—once viewed as bridges between the two nations—are now urged, and sometimes forced, to pick a side.
Analysts say Chinese communist party leader Xi Jinping’s push for a stronger, more assertive China has set Beijing on a collision course with Washington. As both governments harden their positions, hundreds of thousands of Chinese students in the United States feel the squeeze.
American consular officers now routinely deny or cancel visas linked to the regime’s military-industrial network.
Beijing, meanwhile, has tightened surveillance of its citizens overseas, branding outspoken students as security risks and, in some cases, jailing them when they return. Academic neutrality is no longer an option….
Caught Between Washington and Beijing, Chinese Students Face a Hard Choice
