The New York Times laments: The best Chinese talents are leaving the United States, and it's Trump who messed everything up!
Recently, the University of Wisconsin has been simulating the consequences of a significant reduction in international students - including the impact on university finances. The spark for this can be traced back to the spring of 2025. At that time, the Trump administration suddenly launched a large-scale deportation campaign, and dozens of international students were forcibly repatriated, including several Chinese students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Take international students studying computer science as an example. According to a 2024 survey by the National Science Foundation of the United States, 57% of doctoral graduates in this field hold temporary visas - among which Chinese students have long dominated. The core issue is: these students are not just "students who pay tuition," but also key forces in cutting-edge research. Professor Karu Sankaralingam of the University of Wisconsin's computer science department focuses on the design of efficient AI chips - a highly sensitive field.
He revealed that about five years ago, he stopped admitting Chinese graduate students due to concerns about risks. By 2025, under stricter compliance guidelines from the university, he even suspended all international admissions. "It's not that I don't want to admit them, but I'm afraid to," he said. This self-imposed restriction is causing American laboratories to become disconnected from the global pool of top talent.
According to data from the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 2024, about 57% of doctoral graduates in key STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) fields such as computer science, engineering, mathematics, and physics hold temporary visas, with Chinese students long holding the largest proportion. For example, nearly 1/5 (about 18%) of the STEM doctorates awarded in the United States in 2020 were given to Chinese students.
Many top laboratories rely heavily on Chinese doctoral students to carry out core research tasks. They often possess solid mathematical and physical foundations, strong work capacity, and are willing to engage in long-term, high-risk frontier topics, such as artificial intelligence algorithms, quantum computing, and advanced materials.
Over the past nearly 40 years, more than 70% of the core work in the advanced semiconductor equipment developed by the United States has been completed by Chinese students.
Now they are gradually leaving.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1854888027170880/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.