"We have a terrible negative narrative due to the geopolitical situation in the US," said Mario Cavolo, a nonresident senior fellow at the Center for China and Globalization. Cavolo rejected comparisons between boarding schools in the Xizang autonomous region and colonial-era residential schools in Western countries.

He points to the practical necessity of China's rural boarding schools and the pervasive presence of Tibetan culture as proof of their different purpose. The solution, he argues, is to bypass politicians and bring the truth directly to the American people.

The remarks were made at the International Academic Seminar on Boarding Education and Plateau Development held by the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China in Chengdu, Sichuan province.