對於美國的下一代中國問題專家來說，挑戰不僅僅是語言及國家接觸 (1/2)

Recently Yahoo New on-line reported the following:

For America's next generation of China experts, the challenges go beyond language and country access (1/2)

SCMP

Mon, August 1, 2022 at 2:30 AM

As an Ivy-league graduate in China studies, 22-year-old Patrick Beyrer ticks all the right boxes to launch a career focused on the country - language skills, prior experience on the mainland, and above all, zeal.

Finding someone like Beyrer is no small feat. Fewer foreigners these days want to pursue China studies, despite expertise in the country arguably more needed than ever. But Beyrer faces a more prosaic challenge: he cannot enter China.

"It has become a challenge to understand China without the prism of face-to-face interactions," said Beyrer, an American who visited the country in 2016 and 2019, each time for weeks-long programmes through the US State Department.

Having studied Mandarin in the US since middle school, Beyrer was looking to deepen his expertise in China studies through a master's programme he enrolled in last year at a top university in Beijing.

Patrick Beyrer, a University of Pennsylvania graduate, last visited China in 2019 for language studies. He hopes to re-enter the country as part of a master's programme

However, just months away from the start of a new academic year, Beyrer has low expectations that he will be allowed in. China has yet to announce whether it will resume visa approvals for international students since suspending standard processing three years ago due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"I think if China doesn't open soon, there is a huge risk that there's going to be ... five or maybe even 10 years of young Americans who'd just develop a really negative opinion of China," Beyrer said. "This is not good."

Only 2,481 American citizens went to China for studies in the 2019-2020 academic year, according to data released in October by the US-based Institute for International Education. This represented a 78.7 per cent drop from the previous year, marking a 10-year low.

The Chinese embassy in Washington did not respond to a South China Morning Post inquiry about the number of student visas issued to US citizens since the coronavirus pandemic began.

While China's strict border policies during the pandemic have affected nearly all foreigners trying to enter the country, Americans have been especially hit hard as relations between Washington and Beijing remain tense.

The number of students from the US who studied in China ranged between 11,613 and 14,887 over the previous 10 academic years, according to the IIE.

Opportunities for Americans to develop expansive, in-depth experience by studying, working or living in China have helped seed the presence of "China hands" in the US government, private sector and academia. Some question whether such a cadre is or should be as influential as in years past, particularly following the administration of Donald Trump when many experts were considered too accommodating of Beijing. Yet Beijing's academics still consider US President Joe Biden's team of advisers on China to have a strong understanding of the country.

Regardless of their political bent, US policymakers across disciplines regard China as America's "most serious competitor" in the 21st century. Accordingly, the Biden administration has made clear it believes the ranks of China-focused experts in diplomacy, military and intelligence matters must grow.

However, Bonnie Glaser, director of the Asia Programme at the German Marshall Fund, said Beijing's current limited intake of international students could take a toll on how China analysts in the US are shaped.

"The lack of first-hand experience may lead to a diminished ability to understand and interpret China and its policies," Glaser said.

Other long-time China watchers have noted that Beijing's political clampdown, fewer job opportunities on the mainland and less leeway to enter as well as move about the country due to Covid-19 have all placed a strain on budding experts. But the situation affects young Americans especially because they have yet to build their networks and experience in China as their predecessors did.

(to be continued)

Translation

作為一名長春藤聯盟中的中國研究專業的畢業生，22 歲的Patrick Beyrer在所有合適的方格打勾，開始一份專注於中國的職業 - 合適的方格是語言技能、在大陸的先前經驗，最重要的是，一股熱情。

找到像 Beyrer 這樣的人絕非易事。儘管可以說比以往任何時候, 更需要有專業中國知識的人，如今想要從事中國研究的外國人越來越少。但Beyrer面臨著一個更常見的;的挑戰：他無法進入中國。

Beyrer 說: “在沒有面對面互動的情況下了解中國已成為一項挑戰”; 他是曾在2016 年和 2019 年訪問該國的美國人，每次都通過美國國務院進行為期數週的日程。

Beyrer 從中學開始就在美國學習普通話，他希望通過去年在北京一所頂尖大學就讀的碩士課程來加深他在中國研究方面的專業知識。

賓夕法尼亞大學畢業生 Patrick Beyrer 最後一次訪問中國是在 2019 年進行語言學習。 他希望作為碩士課程的一部分重新進入該國。

然而，距離新學年開始只有幾個月的時間，Beyrer 對他被允許入境的期望很低。自三年前因冠狀病毒大流行而暫停例行處理以來，中國尚未宣布是否會恢復對國際學生的簽證審批。

Beyrer說: “我認為，如果中國不盡快開放，將會有一個巨大的風險......五年甚至十年的美國年輕人只會對中國產生非常負面的看法”; “這是不妙的情況。”

根據總部位於美國的國際教育研究所10月份發布的數據，2019-2020學年只有2,481名美國公民赴華學習。這比上一年下降了 78.7%，創 10 年新低。

中國駐華盛頓大使館沒有回應南華早報關於自冠狀病毒大流行開始以來,發給美國公民的學生簽證數量的詢問。

儘管中國在大流行期間嚴格的邊境政策幾乎影響了所有試圖進入該國的外國人，但由於華盛頓和北京之間的關係仍然緊張，美國人受到的打擊尤其嚴重。

根據 IIE 的數據，在過去 10 個學年中，在中國學習的美國學生人數在 11,613 至 14,887 人之間。

美國人通過在中國學習、工作或生活獲得廣泛而深入的體驗的機會，有助於在美國政府、私營部門和學術界培育 “中國通” 。有人質疑這樣的被培訓者是否或應該像過去幾年那樣有影響力，特別是在特朗普政府之後，當時許多專家被認為過於遷就北京。然而，北京的學術界仍然認為美國總拜登的中國顧問團隊對中國有深刻的了解。

無論其政治傾向如何，美國跨學科的決策者都將中國視為美國在 21 世紀 “最重要的競爭對手” 。因此，拜登政府已明確表示，它認為在外交、軍事和情報事務方面專注於中國的專家隊伍必須增加。

然而，德國馬歇爾基金會亞洲項目主任 Bonnie Glaser表示，北京目前有限的國際學生收生量可能會對美國的中國分析師的形成可能會造成損害。

Glaser 說: “缺乏第一手經驗可能會導致理解和解釋中國及其政策的能力下降” 。

其他長期觀察中國的人士指出，由於 Covid-19，北京的政治鎮壓、大陸的就業機會減少、進入和在中國移動的餘地減少，都給嶄露頭角的專家帶來了壓力。但這種情況特别影響了年輕的美國人，尤其是因為他們還沒有像其前輩那樣, 在中國建立自己的網絡和經驗。

（未完待續）