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Chinese students make up the largest proportion of international students at the U of S, accounting for more than 40 per cent of international students studying there.

The U of S has been home to a Confucius Institute since 2012. The institute is a partnership between the U of S and the Beijing Institute of Technology and offers non-credit Chinese language and culture courses to students of the U of S, public school students and the general public.

In an emailed statement, Karen Chad, the U of S vice president of research, said the university is “attentive to the international situation,” but is not using that to define its relationship with its Confucius Institute.

“Universities can transcend even profound political differences, and we continue to believe that in an increasingly global world, academic exchanges and conversations lead to better understanding between nations and people of differing views. We are committed to advancing the free exchange of ideas among academics irrespective of governmental policies in order to fulfil our educational mission. Therefore, we continue to recognize our renewed Confucius Institute agreement,” she said.

Relations between Canada and China have been fraught since December, when the Canadian government arrested Chinese tech executive Meng Wanzhou of Huawei at the request of the United States.

Last month, China blocked shipments of canola seed from two Canadian producers — including Regina-based Viterra — citing the presence of hazardous organisms in seed shipments.

The Canadian government has said its own inspections of the canola seed sent to China indicated the seed was of high quality. Earlier this month, federal government officials said they have offered to send a delegation to China to speak about the issue from a “science-based” perspective. The Saskatchewan government has asked to be part of such a delegation.

ahill@postmedia.com

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