US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday that the United States will start “aggressively” revoking visas of Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.
In a statement, Rubio said the State Department will also revise visa criteria to enhance scrutiny of all future visa applications from China and Hong Kong.
“The US State Department will work with the Department of Homeland Security to aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students,” he said.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
China’s foreign ministry previously vowed to “firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests” of its students overseas, following the Trump administration’s move to revoke Harvard University’s ability to enroll foreign students, many of whom are Chinese.
China is also at the epicentre of Trump’s global trade war that has roiled financial markets, upended supply chains and fueled risks of a sharp worldwide economic downturn. The decision to cancel Chinese student visas comes despite a recent pause in the US-China trade dispute.
International students — India and China together accounting for 54% of them — contributed more than $50 billion to the US economy in 2023, according to the US Department of Commerce.
