Pres. Biden withdraws Trump proposal targeting the Chinese Communist Party’s influence in U.S. education

The Washington Examiner reports that the administration of Joe Biden has “quietly tossed” a pending proposal from the Trump administration that would have required U.S. schools with foreign exchange programs to make known connections to Chinese state-run Confucius Institutes. 

Trump’s proposal is called “Establishing Requirement for Student and Exchange Visitor Program Certified Schools to Disclose Agreements with Confucius Institutes and Classrooms.” It was submitted just before the turn of the year, and it has been sitting in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Axios reports that “the rule would require colleges and K-12 schools that are certified to have foreign exchange programs to disclose any contracts, partnerships or financial transactions from Confucius Institutes or Classrooms (the Confucius Institute offshoot for primary and secondary schools).” The outlet adds that the rule would also apply to “any other cultural institutes or student groups . . . that are funded directly or indirectly by China, according to a Department of Homeland Security official.”

Failure to report such a connection would have resulted, under the proposal, of the school’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification being denied.

The threat

The need to take such action as that proposed by Trump has been demonstrated by Rep. Michale McCaul (R-TX), the House Foreign Affairs ranking member who previously led a China Task Force.

That task force, in a report that it submitted in September, found that “through Confucius Institutes, monitoring of students, and direct interference by PRC diplomats, the CCP is trying to force its views upon our institutions of higher learning.”

The report adds that the Chinese Communist Party “has used these institutes to promote an idyllic image while actively working to steal U.S. research and innovation and coerce colleges and universities.”

A similar finding was made in 2019 by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.

Their report found that foreign countries – “the most aggressive” being China – “seek to exploit America’s openness to advance their own national interests” using, in this case, the Thousand Talents Program to gain access to U.S. educational institutions.

Biden’s decision

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency confirmed to the Examiner that the Biden administration has withdrawn Trump’s proposal.

The Examiner also noted that the proposal’s status on the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs is withdrawn.

It looks as though communist China gets another pass under the Biden administration.