Biden should prioritise reversing Trump’s blanket ban on Chinese and other foreign students

Trump administration policies have inflicted enormous harm on America’s universities, economy and global standing. While every government has the right to screen out any foreign students, to continue to impose sweeping bans is just nuts

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Kevin Rudd

Kevin Rudd, a former prime minister of Australia, is president of the Asia Society Policy Institute, New York.

Published: 6:45am, 27 Jan 2021Updated: 11:25am, 18 Feb 2021

Among the many challenges President Joe Biden will face as he enters office, three of his key goals will be bolstering America’s global economic and technological competitiveness, rebuilding American democracy to heal a divided land, and restoring American global leadership.

Fortunately, one policy change can help quickly tackle all three at once: reversing the restrictions imposed by the Donald Trump administration on visas for international students looking to study in the United States.

Trump administration policies have damaged the openness and attractiveness of the US as a destination for the best and brightest students from around the world. In the 2019-20 academic year, 267,712 international students enrolled in the country – 11 per cent off the peak of 2015-16.

This decline wasn’t just the result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Most international students aimed to continue their studies regardless, if remotely, with one survey finding that only 4 per cent of Chinese students polled had cancelled their study-abroad plans.