The University of Michigan has announced it will terminate its longstanding partnership with Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China, ending a two-decade academic collaboration between the two institutions.
President Santa J. Ono confirmed the decision Jan. 10 following discussions with U.S. congressional leadership and internal U-M stakeholders.
The move follows a recent report from the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party concerned with national security, and a letter from committee chair U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Michigan, communicating his concerns that the partnership had been compromised.
“International academic partnerships have deeply enriched our academic offerings and strengthened the global education of our students, and we will continue to pursue partnerships around the world as part of our academic mission,” Ono said. “As we do so, we must also prioritize our commitment to national security.”
U-M’s partnership with SJTU involved a joint institute that has placed American and Chinese students at U-M and in China. Established in 2005, the UM-SJTU Joint Institute stands out among international education institutes for offering engineering degree programs accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, with all courses taught in English and almost all students pursuing an international education experience.
Over the past two decades, the partnership has facilitated numerous academic exchanges, including dual-degree programs, scholarships and study-abroad opportunities. Overall, the SJTU has offered global learning experiences to more than 1,000 undergraduate students from U-M and other institutions.
University administrators working with the joint institute emphasized that current students enrolled in its programs will be able to complete their degrees without disruptions related to this separation.
The decision reflects broader changes in the landscape of international academic cooperation, particularly between U.S. and Chinese institutions. U-M reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining rigorous standards for international collaborations while ensuring compliance with national security considerations.
In light of the partnership’s dissolution, Ono emphasized the importance of international education and the essential role of international students, faculty and staff on U-M’s campus.
“International experiences are vital for our students in this interconnected world,” he said. “We remain committed to supporting U-M’s international students and will continue to foster international partnerships that advance knowledge and cross-cultural understanding and ensure our campus remains a vibrant community where scholars from around the world can thrive.”
Jiaxing Yang
🕯️🕯️🕯️
Hanling Yang
🫡
Charles Song
Ono真不是东西，美国政府的走狗
Yifeng Tang
This is VERY sad.
Unbelievably short-sighted move by the University.
I think the SJTU-UM community across the world will be deeply saddened.
Charles Song
特朗普还没有上台呢，校董及其走狗小野就提前举手投降摇尾乞怜，甚至都不假装在乎学生。看他们对工会和支持巴勒斯坦运动的表现就知道了，学生只是他们政治和财富阶梯的垫脚石。
Shaoqing Yu
😢😢😢
Xiang Liu
As a proud SJTU and JI dual degree program alumus, I am deeply sad to see the partnership ends.
However, I totally understand this decision. Under the current CCP regime, the PRC is heading towards a path that is bound to have conflicts with the rest of the world. What XJP is doing is not what the Chinese people hoped for. The rest of the world also had other expectations.
I want yo express my greatest gratitude for the best education that U of M has provided. Those years were the 神仙日子 of my life.
Forever Go Blue!
On the other hand, the US is not
Xiang Liu
the US is not doing its best as a world leader. I hope the tides will eventually turn and the US-China relationship have a better future.
Yiyang Jiang
As an alumnus of both SJTU and Umich, I deeply saddend to hear this news. It is our collective stands that China stands firmly against the US government’s practice of overstretching the concept of national security, making discriminatory actions in various names and going after Chinese higher-education institutes to contain high-quality academic achievements. The Chinese people’s right to development is not to be deprived of or ignored. We urge American people, as a member of the community with a shared future for mankind, to cease the persecution of specific ethnic groups and not to repeat the mistakes of history. It is our responsibility to work towards common great academic achievements.
Xiang Liu
On the other hand, the US is not doing its best as a world leader. I hope the tides will eventually turn and the US-China relationship have a better future.