Washington [US], May 29: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on May 28 that the US will begin revoking visas of Chinese students, including those with ties to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in important fields.
In a statement, Mr. Rubio said the US State Department will also amend visa issuance criteria to increase scrutiny of all future visa applications from China and Hong Kong, according to Reuters.
"The US State Department will work with the Department of Homeland Security to aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students," Mr. Rubio emphasized.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington DC did not immediately respond to a request for comment, according to Reuters.
The number of Chinese students in the US has fallen to about 277,000 in 2024 from about 370,000 in 2019, partly due to rising tensions between the world's two largest economies and tighter US government scrutiny of some Chinese student groups.
China is also at the center of US President Donald Trump 's global trade war that has roiled financial markets, upended supply chains and raised the risk of a global recession, according to Reuters.
The Trump administration has expanded social media screening of foreign students and is looking to ramp up deportations and student visa revocations as part of efforts to implement his hardline immigration agenda.
On May 27, the US State Department issued a dispatch, instructing the consular section at all US embassies to stop scheduling additional visa interviews (F, M and J) for students or exchange students until further instructions are given in a few days, according to The Guardian .
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper