China Rebranding Confucius Institutes on American College Campuses

Confucius Institutes — once hailed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as “an important part of China’s overseas propaganda set-up” — are in free-fall. These CCP-sponsored centers, established on college campuses across America, have struggled to recover from being targeted by the Trump administration, which saw them as a national-security risk and pursued allegations that they’d been a party to visa fraud and failed to comply with federal transparency laws. But the Chinese government specializes in playing the long game, and now it is attempting to reboot its influence operations.

Confucius Institutes (CIs) bring Chinese nationals to college campuses, where they teach Chinese language and culture using Chinese government-approved materials. The Chinese Ministry of Education funds the CI program, using it as leverage to build additional relationships that benefit Beijing. Four years ago, Congress cut grant funding from colleges and universities that hosted Confucius Institutes. Then, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo probed CIs and the Department of Education cracked down on colleges’ failures to report foreign gifts. As a result, CIs began shutting down: Only 17 now remain out of an original 118, and three of those are scheduled to close later this year.

RP

About the Author

Rachelle Peterson

Rachelle Peterson is a senior research fellow at the National Association of Scholars and the coauthor of After Confucius Institutes: China’s Enduring Influence on American Higher Education.

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Confucius Institutes — once hailed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as “an important part of China’s overseas propaganda set-up” — are in free-fall. These CCP-sponsored centers, established on college campuses across America, have struggled to recover from being targeted by the Trump administration, which saw them as a national-security risk and pursued allegations that they’d been a party to visa fraud and failed to comply with federal transparency laws. But the Chinese government specializes in playing the long game, and now it is attempting to reboot its influence operations.

Confucius Institutes (CIs) bring Chinese nationals to college campuses, where they teach Chinese language and culture using Chinese government-approved materials. The Chinese Ministry of Education funds the CI program, using it as leverage to build additional relationships that benefit Beijing. Four years ago, Congress cut grant funding from colleges and universities that hosted Confucius Institutes. Then, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo probed CIs and the Department of Education cracked down on colleges’ failures to report foreign gifts. As a result, CIs began shutting down: Only 17 now remain out of an original 118, and three of those are scheduled to close later this year.