Harvard University’s long-standing ties to China — once seen as a prestigious asset — are now drawing intense scrutiny from the Donald Trump administration, which has accused the university of fostering Chinese government influence and antisemitism on campus. On Thursday, the administration moved to revoke Harvard’s ability to enrol foreign students, citing alleged coordination with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Among those affected would be Chinese nationals, who comprised about 20 per cent of Harvard’s international student intake in 2024, according to the university. A federal judge temporarily blocked the order on Friday after Harvard filed a lawsuit challenging the decision. Concerns about China's influence Allegations of Chinese government interference at Harvard are not new. As per a report by news agency Reuters, several US lawmakers, predominantly Republicans, have long raised concerns that China may be exploiting elite academic institutions like Harvard to access cutting-edge US technology, circumvent national security laws, and suppress criticism of Beijing within the United States. “For too long, Harvard has let the Chinese Communist Party exploit it,” a White House official told Reuters, accusing the university of turning a blind eye to CCP-directed harassment on campus. Harvard has yet to respond publicly to the latest accusations. The university maintains that the administration’s actions are politically motivated and constitute a violation of its First Amendment right to free speech. Harvard’s ties to China span decades and include research partnerships, China-focused academic centres, and significant financial contributions. These relationships have helped enhance Harvard’s global profile but are now being viewed through the lens of national security. Former Harvard President Larry Summers, often a critic of the university’s internal policies, described the administration’s move as the most serious attack on the institution to date. "It's hard to imagine a greater strategic gift to China than for the United States to sacrifice its role as a beacon to the world," Summers told Politico. In a statement, the Chinese Embassy in Washington defended US-China educational exchanges as mutually beneficial and warned against stigmatising academic collaboration. Key episodes The administration’s concerns echo a number of recent incidents and broader investigations: 📌Harvard reportedly continued to provide public health training to officials from the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) after the US imposed sanctions on the group in 2020 for alleged human rights abuses against Uyghurs in Xinjiang. The Department of Homeland Security said those engagements continued into 2024. 📌Ronnie Chan, a Hong Kong property developer whose family donated $350 million to Harvard’s School of Public Health in 2014, is a member of the China-United States Exchange Foundation, which has been designated as a foreign principal under US law due to its lobbying efforts. 📌Former Harvard chemistry professor Charles Lieber was convicted in 2021 for lying about his financial ties to China while conducting federally funded research. Once the subject of Trump’s China Initiative, Lieber has since become a full-time professor at a Chinese university. The initiative was later shelved by the Biden administration over concerns of racial profiling and a chilling effect on scientific collaboration. Tensions over China’s influence on US campuses have also played out in public incidents. In April 2024, a Harvard student activist was physically removed by a Chinese exchange student during an event disrupted by protest, raising questions about the role of Beijing-linked student groups in suppressing dissent. The Department of Education has since launched an inquiry into Harvard’s foreign funding disclosures, following a review that found “incomplete and inaccurate” records of major overseas contributions.
