China Suspends U.S. Fulbright Scholar Exchange

China has suspended participation in the prestigious Fulbright program, forbidding an exchange of American professors and Chinese scholars in the wake of strained relations between the two nations over China’s internal crackdown, officials said Wednesday.

Richard Ware, chairman of the Board of Foreign Scholarships, said China told the U.S. Embassy in Beijing that “no American Fulbright professors would be permitted to teach in China and that no Chinese graduate students or research scholars would be allowed to travel to the U.S.”

Ware said that in recent years, the China Fulbright program has been one of the largest in the world, with 24 American professors and a similar number of Chinese scholars participating.

The 24 American professors assigned to China will be offered Fulbright teaching posts in other countries that have not been chosen yet, said W. B. Reinckens of the U.S. Information Agency.