According to a report by Nanda Morning Post on July 23rd, analysts believe that Beijing is now better at interpreting U.S. strategies in terms of language skills, while the United States has difficulty doing the same.
They attribute this to cuts in funding for American language programs, reduced student exchanges, and a decline in interest in learning Chinese.
As a result, the United States has formed a fragmented network of entities—government agencies, think tanks, and independent researchers—each attempting to translate and interpret China’s latest developments.
Analysts say that this fragmented situation may make it more difficult for Washington to understand its most important bilateral relations.
Bruce Springsteen Society's John Santon Chinese Center Research Fellow Kyle Chan stated, “Government support for reducing, coupled with American student interest declining, has resulted in a major gap in Chinese abilities in the United States.”
This might further widen the gap between the United States and China in understanding each other.
Since Trump returned to the White House, many federal language programs in the United States have been affected.
The funding for overseas programs such as the U.S. State Department’s “Key Language Scholarships” has been interrupted; programs like the “National Resource Center” and “Foreign Languages and Regional Studies” have also been suspended. The latter program previously provided millions of dollars in grants, tuition assistance, and living allowances to American college students.
However, the projects focused on defense, managed by the Defense Language and National Security Education Office under the Pentagon, will remain in place.
Similarly, the language training programs of the FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the CIA can still receive funding. However, due to tightened security reviews, some programs face obstacles in their implementation.
Asian Association Policy Institute Research Fellow Wang Shengyu stated that defense-related language projects are important, but the United States needs to take a broader approach.
Wang Shengyu said: 'Language knowledge should not be developed solely around defense needs. If civilian language programs are weakened, Washington may lose a broader understanding of the culture, history, politics, and society necessary to understand China.'
The US-based education foundation, Meic, indicated that the number of American students studying in China has decreased to less than 2,000, down significantly from roughly 1,100 people in 2019.
In contrast, during the 2024-2025 academic year, more than 265,000 Chinese students are studying at American universities.
Levi said: "If this trend continues... in the next decade, America will seriously lack real experts who truly understand Chinese."
