The program’s start coincided with a rise in nationalist sentiment in China. Shortly after he came into power six years ago, President Xi Jinping rolled out

The program’s start coincided with a rise in nationalist sentiment in China. Shortly after he came into power six years ago, President Xi Jinping rolled out a campaign against Western values, investing Communist Party members in academia with the power to redline even the most innocuous and apolitical expressions of American culture. And funding American culture in China became particularly unpopular in Washington as the Trump administration worked to distance the countries and anger built over Beijing’s propaganda in America. Perhaps this is what the author was going for, I can't help but feel like I am reading about the development of Cold War 2.