China is by far the largest world graduate producer in Stem races (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), both in absolute and relative terms to the global total. The phenomenon is an exceptional magnitude, but there is a country that has just been slaughtered in their noses: United States.
What happened. As they pointed out In The New York Times A few days ago, the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, advertisement that the Trump administration “would aggressively revoke” the visas of Chinese students. In these visa cancellations, those students with ties to the Chinese Communist Party (PCC) or those who study “critical fields” that did not define clearly but probably include that of AI will be included.
Source: The New York Times.
Impact. In 2024 in the United States, 20% of the visas granted to students went to young Chinese students. The measure is worrying for American universities, which depend on international students who pay the full cost – without scholarships – for their annual income. In addition, this decision affects both students who want to ask for a visa from now on and those who are already studying in the country. In total there are about 275,000 Chinese students in all types of university careers.
Uncertainty. It is not clear what criteria will be followed to revoke these visas and not as quickly these measures will begin. Nor is it known if China will retaliate, although the number of US students in China is much less significant. In 2020 USA He already expelled to 1,000 Chinese students with ties with Chinese military schools.
A massive practice. A report Published by the State Department and the NGO called the Institute of International Education indicated last year that China was the second country with the highest share of international students: only India “exports” more students. In the 2023-2024 COURSE, it received 1.1 million international students, of which 331,000 came from India (23% more than the previous year) and 277,000 from China (4% less than the previous year).
Source: CSET.
China is absolute power in Stem. If there is a “graduate” graduate producer “(science, technology, engineering and mathematics), that is China. Collected data By cset They reveal that in 2020 China led the number of graduates in these disciplines, with a total of 3.57 million students. Only India approaches with 2.55 million students, but for example in the US the figure is four times lower than in China: 820,000 graduates.
Source: CSET.
And the one that is most dedicated to these disciplines. Not only is it that China has the greatest number of Stem graduates in the world: it is that the percentage of students who choose these disciplines is also the largest in the world. 41% of students are launched to Stem Carreras. They are followed by Russia (37%), Germany (36%, Iran (33%) and India (30%). In the US, only 20%of students bet on scientific careers.
Source: Macro Polo / Paulsen Institute.
And that includes AI. In People’s Daily They pointed out A few days ago how approximately 50% of the main researchers of AI are trained in Chinese universities. The worrying thing for the US is not that: they depend a lot on them. A report of the Paulgo Institute of Chicago (USA) recently revealed that 38% of AI experts that develop their professional career in the US They have formed in Chinese universities. They are in fact more than those who have a strictly American origin (37%).
China does not stop betting on Stem Education. Between 2012 and 2022 the budget spending of the Chinese government in education increased from 2.2 billion yuan (268,167 million euros) to 4.85 billion yuan (591,187 million euros), more than double. Several Chinese elite universities They have announced His intention to expand his curricula with the objective of prioritizing the strategic needs of the country, and here the AI - who You start teaching in schools– It’s key.
Imminent danger. This domain has a direct impact on the capacity of innovation, technological development and industrial competitiveness of China, but also of the countries that allow Chinese students to study and then work in international companies. Cut your wings to that talent is to cut them to innovation.
The US will get just the opposite of what it intended. The analyst Alberto Romero explained How these measures are probably designed to protect national security – which Chinese students do not end up “spying” for China. “However, instead of helping the US to enhance their industry, what can happen is that they weaken it. Not only that: that revocation of visas can precisely help China meet their strategic objectives.
Nvidia already notified with the hardware. The US opted to veto the export of its advanced chips from AI to China. The shot has come absolutely for the cylinder headand instead of preventing Chinese development and innovation, it has put a rocket. They do not seem to have learned the lesson, and revoke the visas to Chinese students can end up being an even bigger shot that comes out of an even bigger cylinder head.
Image | Zixi Wu
In Xataka | China has declared the war on private school: why he predicted the prolific “tutorials”
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings