Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced that the U.S. will start “aggressively” revoking visas for Chinese students.
The Trump administration will focus on targeting students “with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields,” Rubio said in a State Department statement, which did not define what it believes to be “critical fields.” It comes amid President Trump’s unprecedented attempts to assert control over American higher education institutions.
Last year, nearly 280,000 Chinese students were studying in the U.S., according to the Institute of International Education. It’s not clear how many would be affected by Rubio’s move. His statement also said that visa criteria would be revised to “enhance scrutiny of all future visa applications from the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong.”
Relations between Beijing and Washington, D.C. have been strained since Trump’s return to office, with the Republican sparking a trade war between the two powers through extreme tariffs on Chinese imports.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the move by Rubio, branding it an “unreasonable” decision hidden behind the guise of ideology and security concerns.
Spokesperson Mao Ning said the decision had “seriously damaged the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese students and disrupted the normal cultural exchanges between the two countries.”
“This political and discriminatory practice of the U.S. has exposed the lies of the so-called freedom and openness that the U.S. has always advertised, and further damaged the U.S.’s own international image, national image, and national credibility,” Mao said.
Earlier this week, the State Department temporarily paused scheduling new visa appointments for students.
A memo seen by Politico ordered embassies to pause all appointments and interviews until further notice while the administration establishes a new screening process for applicants that will include checks on social media.
“Effective immediately, in preparation for an expansion of required social media screening and vetting, consular sections should not add any additional student or exchange visitor (F, M, and J) visa appointment capacity until further guidance is issued,” the cable read, according to Politico. It noted that updates are anticipated to arrive within the “coming days.”
The move to revoke Chinese students’ visas comes amid Trump’s escalating feud with Harvard University.
Last week, the Department of Homeland Security told the storied Ivy League college that it would no longer be allowed to enrol international students. A judge has blocked the policy.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said at the time that the White House is “holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus.”
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