The United States should adopt a more open attitude to attracting international students, a move that is important for both American universities and the nation itself, President of Yale University Richard Levin said on Tuesday.

Levin said overseas students, especially students from China, had faced unreasonable obstacles in obtaining visas to study in the United States. The problem has been improved recently but there is still room for improvement, he said on the closing day of the Chinese-Foreign University Presidents Forum.

Visa difficulties had fostered an impression that the United States no longer valued international academic exchanges and forced many foreign students to choose Canada and Australia instead of the States for their study, Levin said.

Some politicians have suggested the U.S. government endorses a policy of restricting access to sensitive and key lab equipments for students coming from certain countries, Levin said.

Levin said he and the presidents of a couple of key universities had spent a lot of time and effort before managing to persuade the government to drop the proposed policy.

The greatest challenge facing American universities is how to overcome certain politicians' negative attitude towards receiving more international students, Levin said.

Yale has a long tradition of links with China, and the first Chinese student, named Yung Wing, graduated from the university in 1854. Chinese students constitute the largest group of foreign students in Yale.

Chinese President Hu Jintao delivered a key-note speech at Yale University during his trip to the United States last April.

Source: Xinhua