From Classroom to Commerce: The Value of Chinese Students to American Business

America’s top service export isn’t tech or finance—it’s education. Despite growing headwinds, Chinese students contributed $14.4 billion to the US economy in 2024 and supported over 143,000 jobs across the country, according to USCBC’s Export Report 2025. Beyond the direct economic impact of their tuition dollars and spending, Chinese students educated in the United States represent a significant talent pool in critical fields including artificial intelligence and quantum computing, which allow American companies to remain competitive in the global marketplace.

What’s at stake if these numbers continue to decline?

The US-China Business Council and US-China Education Trust held a timely virtual discussion on the future of US-China educational exchange, the economic value of student mobility, and how this will impact the global competitiveness of American companies. Our expert panel included Omar Chihane, TOEFL® general manager, ETS, Amy Gadsden, executive director of Penn China Initiatives and associate vice provost for global initiatives, University of Pennsylvania, and Yanzhong Huang, director of the Center for Global Health Studies at Seton Hall University and senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.