The lack of infrastructure, support and adequate living conditions is all that severely limits them from reaching their potential and they know this, which is why they climb the Everest of bureaucratic hurdles to get to a place like the US. China is a unique case because it has become wealthy (enough) very quickly and critically also has a very large population, which statistically increases the chances of very intelligent people appearing given the right conditions; if 1% of a billion population is very intelligent that's 10 million people in real terms.

I don't think the US has the dominance it did in science like it did in the 60s, when Europe and Japan were still recovering from war and China was still poor. I think the loss of a large number of Chinese students would certainly have an affect on the US's development in science today.

No, they really don’t. Where’s your source for this? You make it sound like we’re just admitting 350,000 spies into the States each year.

However, it is true that if you make these folks feel thoroughly unwelcome, they will want to just go home and help out - and that’s exactly what you’ll do by (a) being baselessly suspicious of them and (b) being harsh when they try to stay for studies or immigrate.

What on earth are you talking about? I mean they have to get a passport, true. This takes about 10 days, but has no special requirements.

But that's the same situation as in the US, where school students literally recite the pledge of allegiance.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_passport#Fee_and_proce...

Today, the US “competes” (to some extent) with Europe for the best and brightest.

"What's going to get us to the Moon? Good old American know-how, provided by good old Americans like Herr Doktor Werner von Braun."