美国《纽约时报》网站4月14日发表文章称，美国联邦调查局禁止一些中国学者访问美国。根据该报道，去年一共有三十名社会科学研究教授、学术机构负责人以及政府政策研究专家的访美签证被吊销，或开始行政复审，其中包括一些知名学者。
美国政府的上述做法令人遗憾，反映出其对中国学者访美的担心和缺乏信心，担心就是怕中国学者会在美国搜集“情报”，缺乏信心就是对美国官员和智库学者在接待中国学者时能否守住美国的秘密不放心。应该说，美国政府这样做既夸大了中国学者收集“情报”的可能性，也低估了他们访谈的那些美国官员和智库学者守护美国秘密的意愿和能力。事实是中国学者在美国访问期间根本接触不到什么美国的机密，能够听到和看到的基本上是美国官员和学者公开发表的意见和看法，美国官员和智库专家也很清楚自己应该说什么，在说什么和可以说什么。
中国学者与美国官员和智库学者交流的作用有三重：一是它有助于中国学者更加客观地了解美国政府和民间对两国间一些问题的看法，二是它有助于美国官员和学者更加系统地了解中国政府在一些问题上的立场和关切，三是它有助于双方学者和官员一起探讨解决和管理这些问题的思路和做法。其实，这也是多年来不少美国智库专家和学者来中国与中国官员和学者交流的目的。这些年来，这种相互的交流已经成为中美两国学者客观认识中美关系和对方观点和看法的重要渠道。
是的，这些学者中的部分人回国后要向中国政府报告他们访问的观感和看法，但事实上美国部分专家学者也是这样做的。这对两国来说不仅不应该是个问题，而且应该是件好事，因为它对于两国政府客观了解对方意图，避免误判，理性和建设性处理两国关系是十分有益的。因此，以此为由限制两国间正常的专家和学者交流是非常不明智的。
多年来，美国政府一直支持和鼓励两国专家学者进行交流，试图通过这种交流更加客观全面地了解中美间面临的问题和挑战，从而更加有效和务实管理两国间日益重要和复杂的关系。这一届美国政府却改变了以前务实的做法，这势必对两国关系造成不可估量的负面影响，最终伤害的不仅是中国的利益，也是美国的利益。
每个国家都有秘密不想让别人知道，所以都会采取措施加强防范，确保自身安全，这是各自的国家利益所在。但是，如果这种防范超过了适当的界限，严重影响了与国与国之间正常的交流，特别是学者之间的交流，这就不仅不利于维护自身安全，反而会损害自身安全，这在一个相互依存程度越来越高的世界里尤其是这样。
中美两国都是在世界上具有重要影响力的国家，中美关系也是世界上最重要的国家间关系之一，管理好这一关系不仅关系到两国的重要利益，也关系到世界的和平和稳定。要管理好这一关系，不仅不应限制双方现有的交流，而且应该支持和鼓励这种交流，因为只有这样，才能够更加有效地管理好这一关系。
美国的安全部门强调交流的风险，主张加强防范，这是它们的职责所在，无可厚非。但美国领导人主管全局，他们应该明白中美关系不仅仅涉及到美国的安全利益，还关系到美国很多其他的利益，只有通过有效的交流，美国才能够维护好自己在两国关系中包括安全利益在内的众多的利益，而维护好两国关系中其他的利益也是维护好美国安全利益的保障。因此，美国领导人应该从全局出发，把对中国的安全防范放到适当的位置上。只有这样，两国才可以避免过度猜忌，避免由此走向对抗和敌对，并通过努力建构一个符合两国最大利益、良性互动的双边关系。
希望美国政府审时度势，从自身利益出发，尽早改变这种损人不利己的做法。
Alarmist US harms itself by barring scholars
The New York Times reported on April 14 that "as many as 30 Chinese professors in the social sciences, head of academic institutes and experts who help explain government policies have had their visas to the United States canceled in the past year, or put on administrative review."
This move by the US government is regrettable. It reflects both anxiety and lack of confidence on its part: anxiety because it is worried that Chinese scholars would collect "intelligence" while they are in the US and lack of confidence because it has little trust in willingness and ability of its officials and think tank experts to keep secrets when hosting Chinese scholars.
The US government's move grossly exaggerates the ability of Chinese scholars to obtain US secrets and underestimates the willingness and ability of US officials and experts to keep them. The fact is that on the one hand, Chinese scholars do not really have access to any confidential information when they are in the US and what they can see and hear are views of US officials and scholars expressed in public. On the other hand, the US officials and experts are equally protective of US national interests and are fully aware of what they are talking about and what they can say to foreigners.
Generally speaking, exchanges between Chinese scholars and US officials and experts have three functions. First, they help the Chinese side get a better understanding of the views of the US government and American people on some issues between the two countries. Second, they help the US officials and experts get a more nuanced understanding of the views of the Chinese government and the Chinese people on these issues. Third, it helps both sides explore pragmatic ways to manage the problems in China-US relations.
In fact, this is what some US think tank experts and scholars have been doing in China for years. Over the years, such exchanges have become an important channel for both Chinese and US scholars to evaluate the state of the relationship and to help their respective government to deal with and manage the problems it faces in a constructive way.
It is true that some of these Chinese scholars share what they have learned in the US with the Chinese government after returning home. As far as I know, some of their American counterparts have been doing the same thing too. One should encourage this type of exchange between scholars of the two countries, rather than discourage it, since it contributes to both countries' efforts to gauge each other's intentions, avoid misunderstanding, and deal with their relationship in a rational and realistic way. In the light of this, it is unwise to restrict the exchange of experts and scholars between the two countries.
For this reason, successive US administrations supported and encouraged exchanges between experts and scholars of both countries. It did so because it believed that such exchanges enable both countries to obtain a more objective and comprehensive understanding of the problems and challenges they face and deal with the increasingly important and complicated relationship on that basis. It appears that current US administration has changed this practice. It will undoubtedly hurt relations between the two countries. Ultimately, it will not only harm Beijing's interests, but also those of Washington.
Every nation has confidential information that it wishes to keep for security reasons. Therefore, it is perfectly understandable that it wants to do whatever possible to prevent others from getting them. However, if such precautions become excessive and severely affect normal exchange with other countries, it can make its country less secure. This is especially so in an increasingly interdependent world.
Both China and the US are large and influential countries. The China-US relationship is one of the most important bilateral relationships in the world. Properly handling the relationship is not only important for the interests of both countries, but also to global peace and prosperity. Only through effective communication can the two countries manage the relationship properly. In the light of this, both sides should support and encourage the existing exchange of scholars and experts.
It is the duty of the US security establishment to emphasize the risks the country faces and demand greater safeguards. There is nothing wrong with that. However, in conducting foreign relations, US authorities should be aware that the relationship with China involves many important interests beyond the narrowly defined security interests. Only through effective communication can the US advance its national interests in its complicated relations with China. Moreover, defending US security interests requires the US to promote its other interests as well. Only through effective communication can the two countries avoid excessive suspicion, confrontation, and hostility. Therefore, US leaders need to balance its competing interests and put the security interests in a proper place.
In sum, the current policy that restricts Chinese scholars from visiting the US brings harm to Washington as well as to Beijing. The US needs to rethink its policy.
