President Trump said his administration will welcome more Chinese students than ever into the United States to enroll in higher education as trade talks press on with Beijing.
Trump announced Monday that he plans to open the floodgates to another 600,000 Chinese college students, though it’s unclear when. There are currently around 270,000 Chinese students enrolled in US universities.
“I hear so many stories that we’re not going to allow their students,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
“We’re going to allow their students to come in. It’s very important, 600,000 students. It’s very important. But we’re going to get along with China.”
Trump’s announcement comes after Secretary of State Marco Rubio previously revealed a plan to crack down on visas for Chinese nationals — specifically, young college students.
“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 said in a statement in May.
The Chinese Communist Party, the majority party in the country, has more than 90 million members, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
During Trump’s first 100 days in office, Rubio revoked more than 4,000 visas from foreign students with criminal records for charges ranging from arson to DUIs.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem also tried to forcibly nullify a staggering 7,000 visas held by students at Harvard University, but it was blocked by a federal court.
Still, Trump assured in June that he has “always been in favor” of ushering in students from China.
His stated 600,000 quota would be the largest number of Chinese students admitted to the US in history. The number peaked at around 370,000 in 2019 before it dipped after the pandemic, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The commander in chief’s change of heart comes as China and the US have volleyed tariffs back and forth since his inauguration in late January.
Trump originally slammed the country with a 145% tariff on all Chinese goods. Beijing wasted no time retaliating with a 125% tariff on American exports.
Debates slowed for a bit until Trump shared he was considering a whopping 200% tariff on Chinese-made magnets, citing frustrations with its “monopoly on the world’s magnets,” noting that it would take the US “a year to have them.”
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