洪博培：美国吸引理想远大的中国学生-华尔街日报

观点 2010年 12月 02日 08:04洪博培：美国吸引理想远大的中国学生America Lures Chinese Who Dream BigJON M. HUNTSMAN, JR.

Headlines about trying times in America may dominate the news, but U.S. institutions of higher learning are still attracting the best and brightest students from around the world─and nowhere more so than in China. Our schools and universities not only give young Chinese opportunities, they are also among the best advertisements for how we can promote mutual understanding, encourage collaborations and develop a richer, more informed and more cooperative relationship with the world's second largest economy.

According to this year's Open Doors Report on Student Mobility, produced by the Institute of International Education, America's institutions of higher learning are by far the preferred destination for Chinese students who want to study abroad. While the total number of international students at colleges and universities in the United States increased by 3% during the 2009-10 academic year, this growth was driven by a 30% increase in student enrollment from the People's Republic of China. This is good news for the American education system, it's good news for the American economy, and it's good news for the future of our bilateral relationship.

With almost 128,000 students in the U.S., China has now overtaken India as the biggest source of foreign students. The Open Doors Report confirms what those of us working here have long believed: Chinese students and their parents still see the United States as the place for those who dare to dream big, and that American schools are big enough─and good enough─to make those dreams come true.

We should be proud of the global appeal of the U.S. education system. Foreigners studying in the United States don't just earn an American degree, they learn about America. They learn our value system and our core beliefs. They discover our multiethnic diversity, and the transparency and openness that promote good governance.

And when our foreign graduates return to their countries they bring those values back to their governments, their schools, their media and their corporations. They chart the destinies of their countries.

Since China began to reform and open its economy more than 30 years ago, more than one million Chinese have studied in the United States and have contributed to the economic growth of both countries. This has created jobs and economic opportunities across America, as foreign students spend money on everything from tuition and books to pizza and clothes.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, international students pumped $19.9 billion dollars into the U.S. economy in 2009-10. Considering that 18.5% of foreign students in the United States hailed from China in the 2009-2010 academic year, Chinese students are spending billions of dollars in the United States, helping to rejuvenate the economies of communities from across the United States.

This is a two-way street, and while we welcome the continued rise in the number of Chinese students in the United States, it is equally important that we also grow the number of American students studying in China. When he was in China last November, President Barack Obama said he wants to see the number of American students studying in China increase to 100,000 over the next four years.

In order for the United States to compete economically and address common global challenges, we need to train a new generation of Americans who understand the Chinese language as well as Chinese history and culture─and increasingly, advances in Chinese science and technology. We are working hard, on both sides of the Pacific, to meet President Obama's challenge.

As more of our citizens understand each other's culture and language, it makes it that much easier for us to work through our differences and find solutions for complex global problems. Foreign students who come to the United States often come in order to seek a piece of the American dream. What's important for us to realize is that these same foreign students take that dream back to their countries. As they work to make a better life for their families, they are also helping to transform their societies.

(Mr. Huntsman is the U.S. ambassador to the People's Republic of China. )洪博培

关于美国处于艰难时期的文章可能连篇累牍，但美国高等院校仍在吸引着全球各地出类拔萃的学生，其中没有一个国家的学生比中国学生更多的了。我们的学校和大学不仅给予中国年轻人以机会，他们还是最好的广告，可以说明我们与全球第二大经济体──中国如何促进互相理解、鼓励合作、加强深厚、明智和更协作的关系。

根据今年由国际教育协会（Institute of International Education）编纂的《学生流动门户开放报告》（Open Doors Report on Student Mobility），美国高校是中国有志赴海外留学学生的首选目的地。尽管2009-10学年美国各大专院校国际学生总量只增长了3%，但这是由中国学生增长30%带动的。这对美国教育体系和美国经济来说都是好消息，对于中美双边关系的未来也是好消息。

中国在美国学生将近12.8万人，中国目前已超过印度成为美国最大的外国学生来源地。《门户开放报告》证实了我们这些在中国工作的人长期以来的想法：中国学生和他们的父母仍然认为美国是那些理想远大的学生的学习之地，并认为美国学校足够大，也足够好，可以实现这些梦想。

我们应该为美国教育体系对全球学生的吸引力感到自豪。在美国学习的外国学生不仅获得美国学位，他们还向美国学习。他们学习我们的价值体系和核心信念，发现我们民族的多元性，以及促进良好监管的透明度和开放性。

当外国学生毕业后返回他们的祖国时，他们把这些价值带回到他们的政府、学校、媒体和企业。他们讨论自己国家的命运前途。

30多年前中国开始改革开放以来，已有超过100万的中国人在美国学习过，促进了中美两国的经济发展。这为美国创造了就业和经济机会，因为外国学生在从学费书费到披萨饼和服装上都要消费。

根据美国商务部数据，2009-10年国际学生为美国经济注入了199亿美元。考虑到2009-2010学年美国18.5%的外国学生来自中国，因此中国学生在美国支出了数十亿美元，帮助促进了全美多个地方经济的复苏。

交往是双向的，在我们欢迎中国在美学生数量持续增加之际，增加在华学习的美国学生数量也同样重要。奥巴马总统（Barack Obama）去年11月份访华时说，他希望未来四年在华学习的美国学生数量增加到10万人。

为了使美国在经济上具有竞争力并应对全球挑战，我们需要培养了解中国语言、历史、文化，以及中国科技进步的新一代美国人。中美两国的人们都在努力工作，以完成奥巴马总统定下的目标。

随着更多民众了解彼此的文化和语言，我们就更容易解决分歧，并为复杂的全球问题找到解决方案。来美国学习的外国学生通常是为寻找他们的美国梦，对于我们来说重要的是要意识到，这些外国学生要把这些梦想带回他们的祖国。随着他们努力工作为自己的家庭带来更好的生活，他们也在帮助改造自己的社会。

(编者注：洪博培（JON M. HUNTSMAN）是美国驻中国大使)（本文版权归道琼斯公司所有，未经许可不得翻译或转载。）