Trump's visa crackdown hands China an edge in global tech race.
Paranoia about spying risks creating reverse brain drain
Brabim Karki is a businessman based in Nepal. He writes for The Independent, The Globe and Mail, the South China Morning Post and The Straits Times, among others.
President Donald Trump's administration announced that it would work to "aggressively revoke" visas of Chinese students studying in the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said people facing scrutiny would include "those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields." He added that the State Department was revising visa criteria to "enhance scrutiny" of all future applications from China and Hong Kong.
The policy announced by Rubio is being sold as a tough-on-China win. But behind the rhetoric lies a dangerous miscalculation: The U.S. isn't just cutting off Beijing, it's starving its own innovation pipeline. The policy risks undermining the very foundation of America's technological leadership by alienating a critical source of talent and creativity.
This move isn't about security versus openness, it's about self-sabotage. Chinese students and researchers aren't just filling classrooms, they're driving American breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, biotech and clean energy. China is the country of origin for the second-largest group of international students in the U.S.. China sent 277,398 students in the 2023-24 academic year, according to an annual survey by the Institute of International Education (IIE), a report backed by the U.S. State Department. By shutting these students out, the U.S. isn't protecting itself from espionage, it's handing China an unexpected edge in the global tech race.
The real risk isn't infiltration. That's irrelevant. By pushing away talent, America risks ceding its position as the world's innovation hub, allowing competitors to capitalize on its shortsightedness.
Talent is the ultimate currency in the competition between the U.S. and China for technological superiority. For many years, America's biggest advantage was its capacity to draw in the best minds in the world, not only its institutions or venture money. Chinese students make up roughly a quarter of all international students in the U.S., and they are overrepresented in STEM fields, disciplines critical to the future of technology and economic growth. Many of these students stay in the country after graduation, contributing to American industries and academia.
But as Washington tightens visa rules, Beijing is rolling out the red carpet, offering grants, state-of-the-art labs, and fast-tracked citizenship to top-tier researchers. Programs like China's Thousand Talents Plan are designed to attract scientists and engineers with lucrative incentives, creating a reverse brain drain.
The irony is that the U.S. is effectively exporting its own competitive edge. It is not the right move to stop the best foreign minds from coming to the U.S. and using their talents to propel American prosperity. By closing its doors, America risks losing the very resource that has kept it ahead in the global race for innovation.
International students -- 54% of them from China and India -- contributed more than $50 billion to the U.S. economy in 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. They're not just there to learn, they're co-authoring papers, filing patents and building startups. These people aren't spies stealing secrets for China. They're researchers collaborating with Americans to tackle big challenges like fighting cancer, improving clean energy or making quantum encryption better.
For example, Chinese scientists helped make breakthroughs in CRISPR gene editing and created AI tools that improve medical diagnoses. They're working together with Americans to find solutions, not steal secrets. Chinese entrepreneurs built Zoom, Nvidia, and countless other tech giants. Their contributions are not abstract, they translate into tangible benefits for American society and the global community.
In recent years, Chinese students at U.S. universities have been plagued by rumors and accusations of espionage, particularly in sensitive fields. Meanwhile, those same students are inventing the technologies that keep America ahead. Chinese researchers are making significant contributions to the field of AI and many U.S. colleges and businesses have hired them for their skills. Strip them away, and you don't just lose talent, you slow down discovery.
A backlash is already brewing. Universities reliant on foreign enrollment are bracing for financial hits. U.S. tech executives warn the visa restrictions will force R&D hubs overseas. And China is capitalizing on the exodus. Programs like the Thousand Talents Plan are a sign of this.
Security matters, but so does sanity. A policy that turns every Chinese student into a potential spy isn't just paranoid, it's counterproductive. Instead of blanket visa bans, why not strengthen vetting processes? Targeted screening for actual espionage risks -- based on evidence, not nationality -- would protect sensitive tech without gutting America's talent pool.
The U.S. has always thrived by attracting the world's best minds, not by building walls around them. If Americans keep treating Chinese students as threats rather than partners they're not just shooting themselves in the foot, they're handing a gun to their rivals. The next breakthrough in quantum computing or vaccine development might come from a lab in California or Beijing -- but only if the U.S. doesn't wall itself off first. Kicking out the world's best minds isn't a victory, it's a surrender.