The United States, under President Donald Trump’s administration, has unveiled plans to “aggressively revoke” visas for Chinese students studying in the country, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced in a statement on Wednesday.
The State Department release outlines the policy, targeting Chinese students with ties to the Chinese Communist Party or those enrolled in “critical fields.”
Rubio also confirmed that future visa applications from China and Hong Kong will face heightened scrutiny.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, the US State Department will work with the Department of Homeland Security to aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields,” Rubio stated.
“We will also revise visa criteria to enhance scrutiny of all future visa applications from the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong.”
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs swiftly condemned the decision, calling it a “political and discriminatory practice.”
Spokesperson Mao Ning said, “The US has unreasonably cancelled Chinese students’ visas under the pretext of ideology and national rights.”
”China firmly opposes this and has lodged representations with the US.”
Mao argued that the move undermines the U.S.’s claims of promoting freedom and openness, damaging its international credibility.
Chinese students, who numbered over 270,000 in the U.S. during the 2023-2024 academic year, represent a significant portion of international scholars.
Al Jazeera’s Beijing correspondent Katrina Yu noted, “There are 90 million Communist Party members here in China. Most of them do not have a role in government and many of them are ordinary people.”
She added that many students from elite backgrounds may have indirect ties to the Communist Party, even if not members themselves.
The visa crackdown aligns with escalating tensions between Washington and Beijing, fueled by Trump’s recent tariffs and accusations of China exploiting U.S. trade.
The policy follows other restrictions, including a temporary suspension of student visa processing globally and expanded social media vetting for applicants, as confirmed by an official memo reviewed by CBS News.
The Trump administration has also targeted universities like Harvard, accusing them of failing to address antisemitism and liberal biases, moves that have sparked legal challenges and concerns among international students.