Long advantageous, Harvard's China ties become a political liability

On Thursday, the administration moved to revoke Harvard's ability to enroll foreign students, saying it fostered antisemitism and coordinated with the Chinese Communist Party. Among them are Chinese nationals who made up about a fifth of Harvard's foreign student intake in 2024, the university said.

A U.S. judge on Friday temporarily blocked the administration's order after the Cambridge, Massachusetts, university sued.

The concerns about Chinese government influence at Harvard are not new. Some U.S. lawmakers, many of them Republicans, have expressed worries that China is manipulating Harvard to gain access to U.S. advanced technology, to circumvent U.S. security laws and to stifle criticism of it in the United States.

"For too long, Harvard has let the Chinese Communist Party exploit it," a White House official told Reuters on Friday, adding the school had "turned a blind eye to vigilante CCP-directed harassment on-campus."

Harvard did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

The school has said the revocation was a punishment for Harvard's "perceived viewpoint," which it called a violation of the right to free speech as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment.

Harvard’s links to China, which include research partnerships and China-focused academic centers, are longstanding. The ties have yielded major financial gifts, influence in international affairs and global prestige for the school.

Former Harvard President Larry Summers, who has at times been critical of the university, called the Trump administration's move to block foreign students the most serious attack on the university to date.

"It's hard to imagine a greater strategic gift to China than for the United States to sacrifice its role as a beacon to the world," he said in an interview with Politico.