Trump's decision-making can be described as changing day by day. Recently, his attitude towards Chinese students has changed again.
Trump has publicly stated:China students are welcome to study in the United StatesTrump said that without the consequences of Chinese students, the U.S. university system would collapse completely.
Trump says he welcomes Chinese students to the United States.
During Trump's first term, he called Chinese students "the bad hand", launched the notorious "China Action Plan", once turned Chinese scholars and students into "spies", countless excellent talents were rejected, deported, many research projects were forced to interrupt.
After returning to the White House, Trump still did not let Chinese students go.In May, U.S. Secretary of State Rubio also vowed to step up the scrutiny of Chinese visa applications and even directly withdraw a portion of the visa issued to U.S. students.
Just a few months ago, Trump changed his mouth, claiming that "welcome 600,000 Chinese students to the United States", he said: Chinese students are crucial to the U.S. university system, and if there are fewer than 300,000 or even 600,000 international students, the U.S. higher education system will suffer a serious blow, especially elementary universities will be the first to hit.
Trump is indeed right,China is the second largest source country for international students in the United StatesAccording to official data, the number of Chinese students studying in the United States reached 370,000 at the peak, but after 2022, the number fell sharply, reducing by about 100,000.
[US Secretary of State Lu Biao]
But even so, the "economic dividend" of Chinese students is considerable. According to a study by the American Association of International Education (NAFSA), international students contributed $43.80 billion to the US economy and created 378,000 jobs in the 2023-2024 school year alone. Among them,The contribution of Chinese students exceeds $14 billion, accounting for nearly one third.
From this perspective, Trump is telling the truth. It's just embarrassing that it was himself who pushed China students away. Now in order to protect the educational and economic interests of the United States, he has to slap himself in the face and admit that "he did something wrong in the past."
But it should be noted thatWhat really prompted Trump to change attitude is not just that.Not long ago, during a meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, Mr. Trump said he might visit China soon.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated:Sino-US relations should be based on "mutual respect and win-win cooperation" and emphasize that "head of state diplomacy has an irreplaceable strategic leading role."。What does this sentence mean? Simply put, China has not blocked Trump's visit to China.
And Trump's urgent visit to China, the most important purpose is two words: rare earths。Under China's rare earth control, the amount of rare earths that the United States can import is getting smaller and smaller. Trump obviously can't sit still anymore. Recently, he even made harsh remarks and demanded that China must provide rare earth magnets to the United States, otherwise it will impose a 200% tariff. But despite what he said, he was very clear in his heart:The US threat is useless to China.
[US and European companies are facing the dilemma of rare earth depletion]
Besides rare earths, another key issue is soybeans. Not long ago,Trump shouted late at night, hoping that China would quadruple its soybean orders with the United States.Unfortunately, China did not respond to this. For China, the procurement channels of soybeans have long been diversified, and Brazil, Argentina and even Russia can provide them. The "exclusive advantage" of the United States has long ceased to exist.
So Trump now desperately needs a face-to-face meeting with the Chinese to discuss rare earths and soybeans. Against this backdrop, he suddenly sent a signal that "Chinese students are welcome",In fact, in order to create an “atmosphere of goodwill” to avoid sensitive issues hindering his visit to China.
In other words,Trump’s “admitting that he’s wrong” isn’t a conscientious discovery, but a typical “get it right”.He knows that if he continues to make a fuss about Chinese students, it may make China refuse to cooperate, which will not be worth the candle.
For China, we don't have to rush to express our position on this. As long as we adhere to principles, we can firmly grasp the initiative in future negotiations.
Overall, Trump's repetition only proves one point: the world cannot do without China, and the United States cannot do without China.