Many elite Sino-American ventures have ended under the strain of geopolitics but other, more diverse, programmes are emerging
7-MIN READ7-MINAlyssa ChenPublished: 6:00am, 8 Mar 2026Updated: 6:04am, 8 Mar 2026Nearly five decades ago, in 1978, a dozen or so professors from Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) were on a mission to visit their American counterparts as well as research institutes and factories across the United States.The visit, said to be personally approved by then Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, was designed to forge academic ties and led to sister-school agreements with four prestigious US universities, including the University of Michigan (UM).It was a pivotal moment in academic collaboration between China and the US, laying the foundation for decades of transnational partnerships.
In response, SJTU transitioned the joint institute into a more localised entity, now known as SJTU Global College, while pursuing new diversified partnerships.
It also plans to establish Zhangjiang International College of Technology this year, partnering with international universities, including Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU).
The demise of the SJTU-Michigan joint institute is one academic casualty on a growing list caught in the crossfire of geopolitical tensions between the United States and China.
