‘Neither the US nor China desires us’

Stranded abroad by the coronavirus pandemic and squeezed by political tensions, Chinese trainees in the United States are rethinking their host and house countries.

Eight years ago, Shizheng Tie, then aged 13, moved alone from China to rural Ohio for one sole function: education. She when had a budding American dream, now she says she is dealing with hostility in that country.

” As a Chinese living in the United States, I am very frightened now,” she says. Tie, now a senior trainee at Johns Hopkins University, describes America as “anti-China” and “chaotic”.

Some 360,000 Chinese students are currently registered in schools in the United States. In the past months, they have experienced two historical occasions – a global pandemic and unprecedented stress between the US and China, which have improved their views of the 2 nations.

‘ Politicised’ and ‘nervous’

The majority of Chinese trainees in the United States are self-funded and hope their western education will lead to an excellent career.

Meanwhile, Washington has actually warned that not all trainees from China are “normal”, declaring some are Beijing’s proxies who perform economic espionage, manage pro-China views and keep an eye on other Chinese students on American campuses.

The Trump administration recently cancelled visas for 3,000 students they believe have ties to the Chinese armed force. One US senator even recommended that Chinese nationals need to be prohibited from studying mathematics and science in America.

Amid the harsh rhetoric, lots of Chinese trainees fear that they are being became a political target for Washington.