If you are Chinese and in the US solely for the purpose of your education, you may be able to exclude up to $5,000 of income that you receive from work performed in the US. Under the U.S.-China treaty, taxable scholarships and fellowships are also excluded from income. This is different than a tax deduction.
You are correct, you will put your income exclusion on Schedule 1, Line 8 as a negative number
There is no provision preventing claiming income exclusion and the standard deduction. For example, US citizens living abroad are able to claim a Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (if they qualify) and still claim a standard deduction for their filing status.
