US schools still top pick for many in China : Graduate students and researchers from China are finding academic and job environments in the United States increasingly unfriendly amid a trade war between the two countries. Chinese citizens, who hope to study or undertake research in the US, are also worried as visa application processes get more stringent.

Madam Cathy Huang is looking forward to August, when her 19-year-old daughter is expected to travel to the University of Connecticut for her undergraduate studies.

For China's best and brightest - and well-to-do - studying abroad is a cherished dream, with the United States the preferred destination.

"We picked the US because competition for good universities in China is too intense, and the quality of education there is high," said Madam Huang, 47, an English teacher.

But s...