Four instructors from an?American college were hospitalised after being stabbed while on an?academic exchange in?China.

The teachers, from Cornell College in Iowa, were visiting a?park in?Jilin City in?north-east China on 10?June when they were violently attacked. According to?China¡¯s Ministry of?Foreign Affairs, they were immediately taken to?hospital and have?not sustained life-threatening injuries.

Videos shared on Chinese social media appeared to show the victims lying on the ground in the park, covered in blood. The footage has since been taken down.

¡°The preliminary judgement from the police is that this case is a random incident,¡± said Lin?Jian, a spokesperson for the ministry. ¡°Currently, further investigations are under way.¡±

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Cornell College, a private liberal arts institution, entered into a partnership with China¡¯s Beihua University in 2018. As part of the agreement, Cornell professors travel to and teach at the Chinese university for two-week periods.

A representative from Beihua University, a public institution in Jilin City, was reportedly with the instructors when the incident took place.

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In the wake of the stabbing, Chinese authorities rushed to reassure the world that the country was a safe place to visit.

¡°China is recognised as one of the safest countries in the world,¡± Mr?Lin said. ¡°China has always taken effective measures and will continue to take such measures to earnestly protect the safety of all foreigners in China.

¡°The¡­random incident will not affect the normal conducting of people-to-people exchanges between China and the United States.¡±

Leaders from both China and the US have recently spoken about the need to encourage academic exchanges amid strained geopolitical relations.

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In a letter to Lamont Repollet, president of Kean University in the US, China¡¯s president, Xi?Jinping, said on 7?June that China-US education exchanges could help to promote mutual understanding between the two nations.

According to state media, Mr?Xi called on universities from both countries to ¡°strengthen exchanges and cooperation¡± and invited the US ¡°education community¡± to visit China more frequently.

Similarly, speaking to students at NYU Shanghai in April, Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, said the countries were ¡°determined to strengthen our people-to-people ties, including¡­educational exchanges¡±.

As of April 2024, there were about 700 US students at Chinese universities, down from more than 11,000 before the pandemic.

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¡°Engaging in China-US people-to-people exchanges is in line with both sides¡¯ interests, and has received enthusiastic support and responses from all levels in both countries,¡± Mr?Lin said.

helen.packer@timeshighereducation.com