In this Sept. 16, 2018, file photo, American flags are displayed together with Chinese flags on top of a trishaw in Beijing. Under scathing political attacks from the Trump administration, China is defending its Confucius Institutes as apolitical facilitators of cultural and language exchange. he administration last week urged U.S. schools and colleges to rethink their ties to the institutes that bring Chinese language classes to America but, according to federal officials, also invite a “malign influence” from China. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)