Welcome to Foreign Policy’s China Brief.

The highlights this week: Chinese students are caught up in Harvard University’s tussle with the Trump administration, China’s defense minister is skipping the premier Asian security forum, and Beijing continues its domestic manufacturing push.

Welcome to Foreign Policy’s China Brief.

The highlights this week: Chinese students are caught up in Harvard University’s tussle with the Trump administration, China’s defense minister is skipping the premier Asian security forum, and Beijing continues its domestic manufacturing push.

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The Trump administration’s decision last week to block Harvard University from accepting international students has caused consternation in China, where the university has long enjoyed near-mythical status among ambitious students and their parents. There are currently 1,282 Chinese students at Harvard—around 12.6 percent of its total international student population. Under the new rules, which are currently on hold by judicial order, these students would be forced to transfer elsewhere.

China sends more students to the United States than any other country. The 2023-2024 academic year was the exception, with India taking the top spot. That year, there were 277,398 Chinese students enrolled in U.S. universities—down considerably from the 2019-2020 academic year, before the COVID-19 pandemic effectively cut off new international students.

During U.S. President Donald Trump’s first term, senior advisor Stephen Miller attempted to persuade Trump to eliminate Chinese student visas entirely, citing espionage concerns. But the president was convinced otherwise by then-U.S. ambassador to China Terry Branstad, who argued that losing Chinese students would be a painful financial blow for small colleges, including those in his home state of Iowa.

Branstad’s argument proved correct: The post-pandemic drop in international students cost U.S. universities approximately $10 billion, according to early estimates. Most of those students, especially........

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