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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I still don’t get it—if their universities are better than ours, why are their students so desperate to get into U.S. colleges, even to the point of cheating? That just doesn’t add up.

And ironically 2024-2025 we see surge in international students in US colleges even with Trump administration.[/quote]

1. Very difficult to get into top universities in China.

2. Cachet/prestige from studying abroad is a significant advantage in gaining employment in China.

3. Many want opportunity to emigrate to US and college is an initial step in that process.

[/quote]

Okay, but if their economy is supposedly doing better than the U.S., at least according to the media, I don’t get why they’d want to come here at all—given the current economic mess and high unemployment and underemployment for American NGs. Same with Indian students. Why?[/quote]

Our salaries are much higher for the same difficulty of job.  They can send some home to family and the purchasing power is pretty good.  Also some Asian employers have longer workdays and more than 5 days per week as a basic schedule.

Also, having known people from these countries, many of them appreciate our freedom of mobility (even car-centric culture), our relatively nice and large residences (apartments to houses), our less grindy and more socially mobile schools, some freedom from political fear, clean air in our cities, less openly-visible poverty, etc.  Also the US still has cutting edge technology and businesses of great interest (Silicon Valley, etc.).

I work with many STEM immigrants who have become citizens or have other legal arrangements.  None of them would prefer to leave the US to go "home".  They are fairly assimilated since most came during grad school.  Their children are born here and usually don't have firm ties to their parents' birth countries except for visiting relatives on vacation.[/quote]

Okay, but this is where things feel contradictory to me. On one hand, the media on both sides talks about how strong China has become—and to be fair, some of that is true. The infrastructure and industrial growth there are clearly outpacing many developed countries, and at the same time, U.S. companies are still rushing to outsource jobs overseas.

But if China is really doing that well, why do so many people still try to come here for anchor babies, or send their kids to the U.S. for education? And meanwhile on DCUM, people constantly virtue-signal about how merit-based U.S. college admissions supposedly are compared to ours.

So what’s the real story here? If China is so strong and the system works so well, why is there still such a strong pull toward the U.S.? Is the media exaggerating, or are people’s actions telling a different truth?[/quote]

Just because an economy is strong and growing, [b]doesn't mean that people are happy, well-paid, enjoying the variety of life choices[/b] available to them, or living in a clean environment.  You are confusing the measurement of an economy in monetary terms/economic productivity metrics with life satisfaction and happiness.  America's statement of values is: "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness".  The U.S. still does a pretty good job regarding these things.  Especially for employable, educated earners.

Anchor babies are risk hedges for those who return.  And perhaps keys to a better life permanently in the U.S. Like acquiring a useful citizenship directly. I have a Ukrainian friend who got Canadian citizenship in the 2000s and then moved to Europe for good as soon as he became a Canadian dual citizen.  I thought he'd never need it.  I also never would have predicted Russia driving tanks through his currently occupied beachside Ukrainian hometown.  Rich people in China can attract attention and lose their liberty and assets in ways that would never happen in the US.   It's similar to the Russian oligarchs buying real estate in London.  And rich Russians send their kids outside the country for school as well (or did).  In some places in China, people do fear the pollution.  Expat Americans in Shanghai and other cities worry a lot about air quality.  I'd imagine wealthy locals also care. There were widespread problems a few years ago about adulterated baby formula.  That kind of issue.  Some standards are low.  Even if the economy is growing.

Only some Chinese people are interested in moving to the U.S.  With a population so large, a small percentage creates a great volume of school and job applicants.  And the absolute size of their cohort of top % of students is just mathematically larger than in the US. My Chinese coworker who is trying to get citizenship (works at my company in the US after earning a transfer from our China office) loves Marvel movies, tours all the big American landmarks and cities, is excited about big American cars, and watches football.  I am white and born in the US, and I like to watch Korean mini-series dramas, vacation in Europe, drive small cars, and don't like any pro sports.  Who fits in better at work?  He does!

Plus the US has global cultural hegemony still.  For example, in every big country, you can find rappers who imitate American rappers right down to the vocal styles and gestures.  That's just an easy current example.  Everbody wearing blue jeans is an old one.  The U.S. is still cool like Rome was in its post-peak but still big empire days. I make no bets on how long the situation lasts.[/quote]

Do you think Americans are happy?[/quote]

Americans *think* they’re unhappy.

If they lived the lives that most Chinese people do, they’d gain an entirely new understanding of what the word means.

Chinese know how to eat bitter. [/quote]

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