The Ascent of Chinese Education

An Interview with William Kirby, PhD ’81, Harvard’s T. M. Chang Professor of China Studies, on the ascent of the Chinese university, lamenting the rise in tensions between the U.S. and China, blaming a “self-isolating” U.S. and its xenophobia, noting its “racialist tones,” and fearing for the impact on Harvard, especially a reduction in Chinese students coming to “GSAS in particular because the School is entirely meritocratic.”

“American universities, despite having grown eminent by importing international ideas and scholars, no longer look abroad for new ideas. Isolation is the opposite of what makes great scholarship; it is a death sentence for higher education…”

“There is xenophobia in both countries, but in the United States, we’re in a little bit of a new red scare with racialist tones in which the Chinese—even Chinese American citizens—are often seen as disloyal or not to be trusted…”

“The rise in tensions has potentially very bad consequences for Harvard and all the great universities in the United States. All have benefited extraordinarily over the decades from waves of Chinese students coming to our shores into our universities…”

“China is home to more of the best human capital in the world than any other country…Harvard’s graduate schools have been the beneficiary of this talent—GSAS in particular because the School is entirely meritocratic…”

“History shows that a self-isolating China is a danger to itself and a loss to the world. The same may be said about the United States.”