Tourism, academia, and literature all show hints that the trend of deeper relations has reversed.
According to a Guardian study of government data, cultural connections between the United States and China have reached a low point following several years of deterioration.
The Covid-19 outbreak and travel restrictions, along with the two nations’ ongoing trade conflict, are diminishing cultural exchanges, affecting visitor numbers, students, and even the world of literature.
Cultural cooperation between the United States and China increased in the late 2000s and early 2010. Tensions between the two nations have now risen under Donald Trump and have remained under Joe Biden, reversing past patterns.
The cultural consequences of the superpowers’ political and economic rivalry.
Studying in another country
Wealthy Chinese people have traditionally admired Western education. According to data, the number of Chinese students studying in the United States increased dramatically during the Obama administration, growing from 98,235 in the 2008-09 academic year to 350,755 in 2016-17. However, the substantial rises seen under Obama have slowed under Trump’s presidency. The Covid-19 epidemic caused the first reduction in population since 2003-04.
In reversal, a similar trend has been seen. The number of US students choosing to study in China increased dramatically in the early 2000s, culminating in 2012. Student exchanges have declined since then, with the pandemic resulting in a significant reduction from 11,639 US students in China in 2018-19 to only 382 in 2020-21.
Journalism
Journalistic ties between the United States and China have hit new lows in recent years, with tit-for-tat expulsions and visa modifications making life difficult for both countries’ foreign journalists.
According to the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China, 56% of foreign bureaux reported delays in acquiring J-1 visas for their correspondents in 2022, and Chinese officials frequently utilized Covid-19 to refuse international media access. Approximately 38% of the journalists polled had Chinese sources who had been harassed or summoned for questioning, up from 25% in 2021.
Meanwhile, the number of US journalist visas granted to Chinese people, including family members, hit a new low in 2021, with only two given (non-essential visa services were hampered by the epidemic). A record 1,041 were given in 2015, but numbers have progressively declined since then as ties between the two nations have deteriorated.
In 2020, the US State Department required Chinese media to register as foreign missions and announced a reduction in the number of journalists permitted to operate at key Chinese media offices in the US from 160 to 100. Both governments agreed to relax limitations on journalists in November 2021, although just 16 were issued in the fiscal year 2022.
Literature and cinema
The thawing of US-China ties has even reached the realm of literature. According to data from the University of Rochester’s translation database, the annual number of Chinese fiction and poetry translations and publishes in the United States has consistently fallen since 2017.
Hollywood’s impact has likewise waned in China. While Chinese-produced films have never been very popular in the United States, Hollywood has historically accounted for a sizable share of Chinese box office income.
That formula has shifted in recent years, with locally-made films accounting for 85% of the Chinese market in 2022, up from less than 50% a decade ago.
Tourism and travel
The arrival of the Covid-19 epidemic halted worldwide travel, and China has imposed more restrictions than any other country. However, data from the I-94 arrivals program reveal that the number of Chinese visitors visiting the United States was declining even before the epidemic.
Arrivals are increasing in the first five months of 2023, after China reopened its borders, but remain significantly lower than pre-pandemic levels. In May of this year, just 87,600 Chinese nationals came, compared to 255,000 in May of last year.
The UN World Tourism Organisation maintains separate information on the number of US visitors visiting China, which showed growing numbers until 2018 when they began to fall.
