Banning foreign students from American universities will damage US-Asian relations in the long term

The president is willing to harm American universities’ gold standard reputations if it means he has a better chance of re-election, writes Adam Withnall

Shortly after the ICE announcement, Trump tweeted: ‘SCHOOLS MUST OPEN IN THE FALL!!!’ (AP)

The Trump administration’s announcement that foreign students will not be able to stay on into the autumn term if their classes remain online will have far-reaching implications for US foreign relations.

American universities welcome more than a million international students every year, and almost two-thirds of those come from just three major Asian economies – China, India and South Korea.

China’s state-run Global Times newspaper branded it a “xenophobic” move that would only “harm higher education” in the US. China sent more than 360,000 students to American universities in 2019.