China’s strict “zero-COVID” policies and control measures in recent years have brought the number of American college students studying in China to its lowest point in more than two decades. Meanwhile, Chinese scholars continue to be the largest group of international students studying in the United States.
According to data published by The Wall Street Journal on March 19, there were only 382 American college students studying in China in the 2020-21 academic year, which is a 97 percent drop from the number two years ago and far below the peak of nearly 15,000 a decade ago.
Experts said that even after China has lifted its travel restrictions, intensified geopolitical tensions and worsening US-China relations mean that it remains unclear whether significant numbers of American students will return to study in China….