China’s younger generations have seen their country prosper and grow stronger for nearly their entire lives, cultivating a sense of pride and identity unique from their older counterparts. Now, as the United States has begun to openly challenge China’s rise, attitudes toward America are being eroded.

Scholars and students have been caught in the crossfire as the Sino-American relationship takes a turn for the worse.

The U.S. is suffering the world’s worst COVID-19 outbreak among countries of its relative wealth, and many citizens - including presidential candidates Trump and Biden - are pointing fingers at China. The climate of xenophobia and discrimination has put the Asian American demographic at risk physically, and economically.

The White House’s attempt to bar many foreign students from returning to the US to continue their studies threatens to damage America’s reputation for educational tolerance and intellectual inquiry – not to mention the fact that it may well turn foreign students against the US.

Of the many efforts the United States has made to decouple with China, its moves to prohibit cultural exchanges, including advanced studies, are least likely to work and undermine a key stabilizer in relations.

The U.S.-China relationship is undoubtedly weakening. Bridging the educational endeavors of the two nations may pave the pathway to more harmonious Sino-American relations.