China wants US to stop ‘harassment’ and welcome Chinese students
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US President Donald Trump said this week that the US would allow 600,000 Chinese students into the country.
PHOTO: SOPHIE PARK/NYTIMES
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China said US President Donald Trump welcoming a large number of students to the United States was better than American officials bothering them at the border – a barb delivered as the nations resume talks aimed at addressing their differences.
“We hope the US will act on President Trump’s commitment to welcoming Chinese students to study in the country, stop groundlessly harassing, interrogating or repatriating Chinese students, and earnestly protect their legitimate and lawful rights and interests,” Mr Guo Jiakun said at a regular press briefing in Beijing on Aug 27.
“Exchanges and cooperation on education give a boost to interactions and understanding between peoples from all countries,” Mr Guo said.
Mr Trump said this week the US would allow 600,000 Chinese students
Earlier in 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US plans to start “aggressively” revoking visas for Chinese students
Mr Trump later downplayed Mr Rubio’s remarks, but the episode rattled Chinese students, especially those who plan to spend years studying at American schools.
The 600,000 figure Mr Trump floated would be more than double the roughly 277,000 Chinese students in the US in 2023-2024, according to the Institute of International Education.
China has alleged that some students from the country are hassled when they enter the US.
On Aug 25, the Chinese embassy in Washington said students should be cautious when landing at the airport in Houston, Texas, alleging they faced “unwarranted interrogation and harassment” by customs officers.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security called the accusation untrue and said that race was not a factor in why arrivals had issues at the border, Newsweek reported,
The spat comes as China is sending Vice-Commerce Minister Li Chenggang to Washington to meet US officials.
The world’s two biggest economies are in the midst of a 90-day truce in their dispute over trade, technology, fentanyl and oil purchases. BLOOMBERG
