China on Thursday criticized the United States recent move to cancel some Chinese students’ visas, “unfair” and ideologically inspired it. Beijing confirmed that it has staged a formal protest with Washington, when US State Secretary Marco Rubio announced strict visa policies, which target students with relationships with those who study students in Chinese Communist Party or sensitive areas.Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said, “The US has improperly canceled the visa of Chinese students on the pretext of ideology and national rights.” “China strongly opposed it and recorded representation with the US.”Rubio, who was recently appointed as the Secretary of State, stated in a post on X that the US would “aggressively” cancel the visa as part of a comprehensive national security effort. China is the second largest source of international students in the US, with more than 270,000 Chinese citizens in American institutions during the 2023–2024 academic year-almost a quarter of all international students.The new visa cancellation policy comes amid a series of developments that have ignored international students. Earlier this week, the US suspended the scheduling of new visa interviews as it prepares to implement strict screening protocols, including the increased monitoring of the social media activity of the applicants.These measures have been criticized as part of a comprehensive campaign under the administration of President Donald Trump to reduce the presence of foreign students under the guise of national security. The latest visa follows the controversial effort of the administration to prevent Crackdown Harvard University from accepting any new international students – a step temporarily stopped by a federal judge.Defending the administration’s stance, Trump said on Wednesday, “Harvard should limit international student enrollment to about 15%. I want to ensure that foreign students are people who can love our country.”International students, especially the people of China, are feeling rapidly targeted. “We have a growing fear,” a Chinese graduate student said on condition of anonymity. “We came here to learn and contribute. Now we are considered as danger.”Many universities, advocacy groups and immigration experts have warned that such policies can destroy long -standing reputation as the United States Global Education Center and prevent top international talents from enrollment in American institutions.
