Do not become reliant on Chinese students, universities warned
UNIVERSITIES have been warned that an “excessive concentration” of Chinese students is putting them at risk of a funding crisis as diplomatic relations between London and Beijing sour.
Russell Group universities, including Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield and Glasgow all had more than 5,000 Chinese students in the last academic year.
At University College London, more than 11,000, or one in four, of the student body, is from China.
Lord Johnson of Marylebone, a former universities minister, said that universities were relying on Chinese students for as much as a third of their total tuition fee income. An “excessive concentration” of students from particular countries “has the potential to create dependencies that may undermine financial resilience,” he said.
The Government this month pledged to “adapt to China’s growing impact”. Demands for a tougher stance have intensified following the beating of a pro-democracy protester by Chinese diplomats in Manchester last week.
Liz Truss was preparing to formally designate China a “threat” to the UK prior to her departure from Downing Street. Conservative China hawks are expected to put pressure on the next prime minister to follow through on those plans, which would upgrade the country from a “systemic competitor”.
However, academics have warned that Chinese students could be discouraged from studying in the UK.
Prof Steve Tsang, director of the China Institute at SOAS University of London, said: “It is unwise for the UK Government to declare China a threat formally, as it will trigger some form of retaliation from Xi [Jinping]’s ultranationalist government.
“The Manchester incident and the near certainty that the Chinese consulgeneral will not be punished by the Chinese government shows that Xi endorses its diplomats playing out their ‘wolf-warrior’ fantasy.”