American engagement with China is at a troubling crossroads – particularly when it comes to the next generation of students and scholars. Over the past decade, data from US colleges and universities reveal a sharp decline in the number of American students studying Chinese or participating in study abroad programmes in China.
This decline should be a wake-up call. It signals not only a growing detachment from one of the world’s most important countries but also a profound misunderstanding of how China has evolved and where it is headed.
The traditional narrative – that China is primarily a low-cost manufacturing hub, a place for cheap labour and mass production – no longer holds. That chapter of China’s economic history has largely closed. In its place, a new, dynamic era has emerged – one centred on cutting-edge innovation, technology-driven entrepreneurship, and an ambitious national effort to lead in the industries of the future.
China today is investing billions in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, electric vehicles, advanced semiconductors, biotechnology, green energy, and space exploration. The ‘factory to the world’ label is being replaced by a new identity: global innovation powerhouse.
Cities like Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Suzhou, and Chengdu are becoming international tech hubs, comparable to Silicon Valley, Berlin, or Tel Aviv. Startups in AI and clean tech are attracting top talent from around the world. China’s R&D spending as a percentage of GDP now compares favourably with that of the United States, and its scientific output is growing at an unprecedented pace.
This transformation offers remarkable opportunities for Americans – if we are smart enough to seize them. Unfortunately, the current generation of American students risks missing out entirely on this historic shift.
The new China
Many American students remain trapped in outdated perceptions of China, formed during the trade boom of the 1980s and 1990s, when business opportunities were rooted in joint ventures, manufacturing, and low-cost sourcing.
With the decline of those sectors as major career avenues, interest in China has waned. The political tensions between Washington and Beijing, amplified by rhetoric about decoupling and strategic competition, have only deepened student disengagement.
But here’s the reality: there is a whole new game in town, and American students need to be in on it.
While the tone of US-China relations has hardened, the complexity of China’s domestic transformation remains underappreciated in the United States. Chinese entrepreneurs, engineers, scientists, and designers are pushing the boundaries in key frontier technologies.
Consider the advances in AI and machine learning, where Chinese firms like Baidu, SenseTime, and iFlytek are competing head-to-head with global giants. In electric vehicles, BYD now outsells Tesla in several global markets. China is also leading in battery innovation, 5G infrastructure, and digital finance.
More importantly, these developments are not occurring in isolation. China’s innovation ecosystem is deeply connected to global talent flows, supply chains, and capital markets.
The opportunity for collaboration, learning, and even co-creation remains significant – particularly for students and young professionals who understand both the American and Chinese systems and can operate across cultures and disciplines.
Yet to engage with this new China, students need a different set of skills. Fluency in Mandarin remains an asset, but so too is fluency in data science, energy systems, urban innovation, and intellectual property law.
US universities must help prepare students not just to study about China but to work within China’s emerging innovation landscape. This means rethinking curricula, revitalising study abroad programmes, and forging new partnerships with Chinese universities, research institutes, startups and think tanks.
Unfortunately, we are headed in the opposite direction.
A failure of imagination
The number of American students studying Chinese has fallen precipitously over the last 10 years. US study abroad in China is at one of its lowest points in two decades. Political concerns, travel disruptions due to the pandemic, and a lack of institutional investment have contributed to this trend.
But the most damaging factor may be a failure of imagination – a failure to grasp that China’s relevance is no longer primarily about manufacturing or geopolitics but about its central role in shaping the global future of science and technology.
This disengagement comes at great cost.
If American students continue to bypass China, we will lose an essential generation of China-literate technologists, policymakers, entrepreneurs, and educators. We will create an even wider gap in mutual understanding at a time when US-China competition requires informed minds and cool-headed analysis.
We will also risk ceding the field to others – Europeans, Southeast Asians, and Latin Americans – who increasingly see China’s tech revolution not only as a challenge but also as a chance to engage, learn, and benefit.
The need for leadership
To counter this, US faculty and administrators must play a leadership role. They need to help students recognise that China’s transformation is not something to be feared or ignored – it is something to be studied, engaged with, and understood on its own terms.
That understanding begins with a clear-eyed appreciation of how China’s innovation system works: the role of government funding, the dynamics of its entrepreneurial networks, the integration of digital platforms into daily life, and the growing sophistication of Chinese research institutions.
We must also push back against the idea that engagement is appeasement. It is not. Engagement is strategy. In an era of strategic rivalry, knowing how your competitor thinks, builds, and innovates is not optional – it is essential.
The best way to ensure that American interests are protected and promoted is to educate a new cohort of professionals who are deeply familiar with China’s technological and scientific landscape.
The good news is that the opportunities are there. Even with geopolitical tensions running high, Chinese universities and research institutes remain open to foreign collaboration.
International programmes in fields like sustainable development, artificial intelligence, environmental science, and biomedical innovation are thriving. American students who bring curiosity, ambition, and the right skill set can gain unique access to this rapidly evolving system.
The real question is whether we will equip them to do so?
Let us not allow outdated narratives or short-term anxieties to blind us to the long-term realities. China’s economy has changed, and so too must our approach to education and international engagement. We owe it to our students – and to the future of US-China relations – to ensure that they do not miss the moment.
The door to China’s technological future is open. It is now time for American students to walk through it.
Denis Simon is a non-resident fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft in Washington, DC, USA. He also is the former executive vice-chancellor of Duke-Kunshan University (2015 to 2020).