Pa. is better off when Americans and Chinese learn, trade, research, and innovate together

Last week, President Donald Trump joined Sen. Dave McCormick and Gov. Josh Shapiro at Carnegie Mellon University to announce $90 billion of investment in Pennsylvania as a hub for energy and artificial intelligence. There was criticism, especially from those concerned about environmental impacts. But overall, the event spoke to the value of coordination among government, the business community, and higher education institutions in seeding a thriving economy.

This formula works beyond AI, too.

Like the academic researchers and diverse companies gathered at CMU, international students and scholars are a vital ingredient in Pennsylvania’s global economic leadership.

Trump understands this. On the campaign trail, he pledged to ensure every international student would graduate with a green card. In June, he asserted that he has always been in favor of Chinese international students, who he observed are good for our schools and good for our country. At his best, the president distinguishes between competition with the Chinese government — which was a core feature of last week’s event — and other critical issues such as international student recruitment and talent development in the U.S.

As we write this from opposite sides of Pennsylvania — which hosts the fourth-largest population of international students from China — we know we are all better off when Americans and Chinese learn, trade, research, and innovate together.

Overall, Chinese presence in Pennsylvania is relatively small in comparison with other states. Still, from Philadelphia to Harrisburg to Pittsburgh, and across the state, Chinatowns, Chinese-owned businesses, and community organizations flourish as part of a broader population of Asian Americans, who make up a bit more than 3% of the commonwealth.

The thousands of Chinese students and scholars who come to Pennsylvania to pursue scholarly opportunities contribute to our thriving regional communities and campuses. Even when alumni leave immediately after graduation, we benefit through stable trade and collaboration.

In 1919, CMU’s first doctoral graduate was Chinese international student Yisheng Mao. He returned to China to be the “father of modern bridge engineering” there, completing the Qiantang River Bridge in 1937. That year, China was an ally in the run-up to U.S. involvement in World War II. Shanghai became a safe haven for Jews fleeing Germany and Austria.

In the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia regions, numerous Jewish families trace their ancestors’ refugee journeys across Europe, to Shanghai, then to the United States and Pennsylvania. People move to flee persecution, find stability, and seek opportunity. Societies prosper when they offer people stable guarantees of economic and democratic freedoms.

Unfortunately, increasing suspicion, condemnation, instability, and visa denials undercut individual student opportunities and the market position of many Pennsylvania colleges and universities, which contribute billions to the commonwealth economy. But with basic government facilitation of legal exchange and travel, there are three things universities and colleges can do well to continue nurturing smart, peaceful exchange and economic growth.

First, higher education institutions create and cultivate knowledge that clarifies reality, subjecting sloppy narratives to hard facts and critical analysis. We must rigorously analyze government actions and power politics while also understanding that we are all part of a shared global heritage.

Chinese inventors first developed paper, the compass, and gunpowder. Those goods spread through that perennial human truth: people move, they trade, they seek opportunity. One of our state’s top exports — mushrooms — was first cultivated in China in the seventh century.

In the United States, we were founded and have grown through immigration. Alumni who stay embody President Ronald Reagan’s insight that “We lead the world because, unique among nations, we draw our people — our strength — from every country and every corner of the world. And by doing so, we continuously renew and enrich our nation … If we ever closed the door to new Americans, our leadership in the world would soon be lost.” These and other truths undermine the false pretense of insisting it is “us” or “them.”

Second, U.S. colleges and universities create conditions for people from diverse backgrounds to connect across real and perceived differences. A study of three decades of Chinese students in America demonstrated that the vast majority of alumni hold positive attitudes toward the U.S. More than 85% said they found Americans friendly and welcoming, and that they would choose to study here again if given the opportunity.

Friendships and opportunities for collaboration result over time. These positive relationships support a third key function of higher education: research and innovation that address critical global challenges.

Researchers rarely operate in isolation. The COVID-19 vaccine was developed through swift, global scientific collaboration, including at the University of Pittsburgh. This kind of innovation and cooperation is never inevitable; the World Economic Forum recently warned that deteriorating U.S.-China relationships threaten a major setback to global scientific progress.

Against that warning, Shapiro and McCormick aim to make Pennsylvania a leader in AI and innovation. That aspiration will be advanced by building upon the commonwealth’s history as a place of thoughtful immigration, complemented by deliberate exchange of ideas and development of new knowledge in leading colleges and universities.

We flourish when we identify clear goals and pursue them together. We must insist that our leaders, regionally and nationally, continue to facilitate safe and legal immigration, including opportunities for university students, researchers, and scholars.

Eric Hartman is director of the executive doctorate in higher education management at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. Jessica Sun is a higher education professional who has worked on international programs in the Pittsburgh region for more than a decade.