Why the US govt wants to ‘aggressively revoke’ visas for Chinese students

Global Times, the CCP mouthpiece, cited a spokesperson as saying, “US’ unjust revocation of Chinese students’ visas under the pretext of ideology and national security has seriously undermined their legitimate rights and interests and disrupted normal people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. China firmly opposes this.”

The move comes amid increasing restrictions on the entry of international students in the US, over pro-Palestine campus activism. Just last week, a court stayed a government order that ceased Harvard University’s ability to enrol foreign students.

The US Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem, said in a letter, “This administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus.” The campaign against Chinese students, however, goes back to the first Trump administration.

Why is Trump targeting Chinese students?

During Trump’s first term (2017-2021), his administration targeted Chinese students for threats to national security and to safeguard US technology and intellectual property. Trump issued a Presidential Proclamation in May 2020, saying, “The PRC’s (People’s Republic of China) acquisition of sensitive United States technologies and intellectual property to modernize its military is a threat to our Nation…”

It added that the PRC authorities “use some Chinese students, mostly post‑graduate students and post-doctorate researchers, to operate as non-traditional collectors of intellectual property”. Those associated with the People’s Liberation Army (the army of the CCP and China) were at “high risk of being exploited or co-opted by the PRC authorities and provide particular cause for concern.”

Later that year, the visas of over 1,000 Chinese nationals who purportedly met the criteria were revoked. The Joe Biden administration also denied visas under the proclamation.

The Trump administration further trained its lens on the Chinese government-supported Confucius Institutes, which promote Chinese culture and language. Its Washington, DC centre was designated a “foreign mission”, allowing the US government greater access to its operations and funding. Most of these centres have shut down since then.

In 2018, the Justice Department launched the “China Initiative” to investigate Chinese economic espionage. Among other things, it targeted Chinese and Chinese-American researchers for allegedly concealing ties to the Chinese government and military. Despite the threat of espionage, such programs have been questioned over their efficacy and procedures.

The MIT Technology Review found in 2021 that only about a quarter of people and institutions charged under the China Initiative have been convicted. “Many cases have little or no obvious connection to national security or the theft of trade secrets,” it said. The program ended in 2022 over criticism that it promoted discrimination against Asian-Americans.

How many Chinese students are at American universities?

Historically, Chinese students have sought overseas education as admission to domestic institutes can be highly competitive, and given the prestige that US educational institutions hold. Between 2010 and 2019, China was the biggest source of international students globally, in terms of total numbers. However, the numbers dipped in 2020 due to the pandemic-induced border closures.

Even after the borders reopened, their outflow remained comparatively lower. The Economist Intelligence Unit attributed the slump to growing geopolitical tensions between China and the West, and enhanced domestic opportunities. However, many Chinese students still pursue education abroad, though data points to a shifting preference from the US to the UK.

Data from the Open Doors project of the US State Department shows an over 25 per cent decline in the number of Chinese students studying in the US in the last five years. In 2023-24, as many as 2,77,398 Chinese nationals were studying in the US, down from 3,72,532 in 2019-20.

Still, students from China form nearly a quarter of all international students in the US, behind only India at 29 per cent. In 2023, Chinese students contributed $14.29 billion to the US economy, including their tuition fees, accommodation and expenditure.

What could the impact be?

Experts have argued that membership in the CCP cannot be the sole grounds for suspicion. For Chinese citizens, joining the most powerful organisation in the country, one that controls most private and public activity, opens up job and business opportunities. It is also a means of upward social mobility, and doesn’t necessarily indicate total ideological alignment.

Notably, the latest announcement comes weeks after the US and China climbed down from the steep tariffs they had imposed on each other, following Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcement. The US’ tariffs on China have now decreased from a staggering 145 per cent to 30 per cent, and China reduced the duties on American goods from 125 per cent to 10 per cent.

This marked a major de-escalation and was seen as a positive sign for relations between the world’s two largest economies. Revoking visas could harm the temporary truce, affecting future US-China trade talks.