Welcome to Foreign PolicyOverview of China.
Last week’s summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump saw plenty of pomp and circumstance but little action. For more on the results—and why the meeting was banned—read my full analysis after the general meeting.
Now, for this week’s highlights: China is escalating its situation campaign against elite educationof Trump comments on Taiwan generate opposition, and the United States and China are thinking cooperation in AI matters.
Suppression of China’s Elite Education
Chinese schools and universities are eliminating so-called key classes — elite programs for gifted students — after official bans and pressure random streamingwhere students are assigned to classes through lottery rather than test scores. Among the programs affected are a major mathematics program was introduced in 2021 at the university level, and later in high schools, by a famous mathematician Shing-Tung’s gold.
That change is part of China”the sun” program, which tries to bring equity and transparency in admissions and targets non-traditional recruitment to top schools. initial efforts to prevent such actions has failed, this time, enforcement has been strict.
There are good reasons for government intervention. Unlike many countries, where the rich send their children to private elite institutions, China’s more connected high school students attend state-run elite schools. These occupy a place in Chinese society similar to the “Group of Seven” in the United States or the Clarendon schools in England.
Given China’s size, there are many regional clusters of these elite schools, some of which were private before being converted into state institutions under communism.
In Beijing, these include Beijing No. 4 High School, Renmin University of China Affiliated High School (RDFZ), and Beijing Normal University Affiliated Experimental High School (where Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping sent their daughters).
The schools benefit from many resources, including highly educated teachers, international exchanges, and first-rate facilities. RDFZ boasts a state-of-the-art computer lab provided by Apple. Perhaps the most striking difference is class size. According to the most recent data, from 2019, the average high school class in China was 50 students; in the elite schools where I have taught, classes averaged 20.
In theory, admission to these institutions is determined through test scores and teacher recommendations. In practice, the system is rife with bribery and influence, and many students enter through family connections. In 2012, price for student bribery in RDFZ was reported between $80,000 and $130,000. (Avg annual urban household income at that time it was $4,273.)
Elite schools anywhere in the world are attractive in part because parents can ensure that their children will associate with future economic and political figures. But corruption extends beyond these central institutions in China: In mainstream schools, parents bribe teachers or education officials to get a place in advanced and elite classes—and even top seats in classes.
of China gaokaonational university entrance exam, is relatively clean, due in part to the 2018 campaign to reduce some of the “extra points” that students could access, a system that was full of corruption.” However, elite high schools that benefit from high resources still send a disproportionate number of students to top universities in China and abroad.
Recent crackdowns have been fueled by concerns about corruption and the old-fashioned communist belief in equality. Although Xi, himself the son of one of China’s founding fathers, is protective of the party elite, he appears to be genuinely trying to make things right. ordinary peoplereturning in 2021 to ban on personal training.
Still, it remains to be seen whether eliminating corruption is worth blocking opportunities for talented students—and whether the campaign will only end up preventing middle-class kids from advancing while strengthening elite benefits.
What we’re after
Trump’s Taiwan Crisis. US President Donald Trump’s careless remarks about Taiwan since his meeting with Xi have caused a small stir, like me. predicted. In the last week, he has trotted out Chinese talking points about the dangers of Taiwan independence and emphasized the distance of the United States from a potential conflict.
Trump also suggested that arms sales could be a “negotiating chip” in US-China relations. Taipei’s leaders seem to be taking the comments seriously, but I would expect a new push by Taiwan to gather the support of the US congress as well as efforts to influence Trump and his inner circle.
The rare earth challenge. The US Department of Defense has announced another plan to challenge China’s dominance of a key mineral supply chain, after Beijing successfully used this advantage last year in retaliation for Trump’s trade war threats. I doubt it, given the repeated failures of such efforts over the past decade.
To be fair, China’s actions could add urgency to a hypothetical threat, and the United States has leverage points. But challenging China on key minerals is a complex industrial and commercial effort, managed by an incompetent US government and a president who wants to curry favor with Xi. Beijing probably doesn’t have much to worry about.
Most Read FP This Week
Technology and Business
US-China AI collaboration? Trump and Xi discussed to cooperate on counter-intelligence issues during their summit last week. Although the United States and China have cooperated in joint threats in the past, doing so in this case will be difficult due to difference AI governance mechanisms and the risk of collaboration becoming a political target.
Another problem is that US AI companies are using the concept of being dominated by China to advance their agenda in Washington. For example, the recently released Anthropic a paper which sets up two scenarios for the future of global AI leadership: democratic (if they get the loose control and government support they desire) and authoritarian (if they don’t).
Economic recession. In the middle of the recent coverage of China’s growth, it is easy to overlook how the country’s economy remains stagnant. The recent economic data revealed disappointing trends almost across the board in consumer spending, investments, and real estate, among other sectors.
Much of the economic downturn reflects the effects of the Iran war. Although China has tried to take advantage of the conflict, including distribute to Australia and jet fuel, continues to face serious problems due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
