I was recently back in China. My last trip to Wuhan in January 2020, where Dundee has a joint programme in Architecture, was against the backdrop of the pandemic taking hold. Three years on there was much to repair for a generation of transnational education (TNE) students whose education had been disrupted by COVID. UK-taught lessons had been online and remote during lockdowns, language learning was impaired and there were few opportunities to enjoy the best of the UK student experience.
Beyond these aggravations, there is the significant chilling in geopolitics exacerbated by the Ukraine conflict, the rise in state surveillance and diminution of personal privacy. As the Financial Times recently observed after four decades of ‘reforming and opening’, we now face an era of ‘security and control.’ Hence, while the US Administration and the UK Government still characterise China as a strategic competitor rather than a threat, the chilling in relations leads to questions about the future of Sino-British educational links.
Universities UK rightly argue the sector would benefit from a coherent strategy towards UK-China relations and the current ‘strategic ambiguity’ is challenging for institutions which have built strong ties with Chinese partners. However, given ongoing tensions around Taiwan, Xinjiang, human rights and the selective economic decoupling, such ‘strategic ambiguity’ seems set to remain.
The Government’s Integrated Review Refresh, published in March, commits to open, constructive and predictable relations, including an enhanced understanding of China’s role, more Mandarin speakers and a deeper professional understanding of China. There was explicit recognition of higher education’s key role in delivering these ambitions. Hence, we should engage confidently when it is in our interests to do so.
