China is not a reactionary nation. Their plans are largely uneffected by the nonsense coming out of the white house. So long as international scientists will work with them they will engage in good faith. The universities themselves had nothing to do with this trade war anyway.

The US made it illegal to cooperate with China on matters of space exploration and research years ago. China on the other hand welcomes collaboration from anyone.

It sounds like China is leaving the door open in good faith, but Congress still needs to approve it.