US to revoke visas of Chinese students tied to Chinese Communist Party, China says, ‘unreasonable’

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Wednesday that the United States will start revoking visas of Chinese students, particularly those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or enrolled in sensitive academic disciplines.

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In a social media post on X, Rubio wrote, “The U.S. will begin revoking visas of Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.”

This move is another step in the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to tighten oversight of foreign student enrollment in US higher education.

Earlier in the day, Trump escalated his criticism of Harvard University, proposing that the school limit its intake of international students to no more than 15%. 

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In a fiery remark against Harvard University, Trump suggested that many foreign nationals admitted by Harvard are "troublemakers", disrupting the country. “We don't want to see shopping centres explode. We don't want to see the kind of riots that you had,” he added.

Stating that Harvard University admits almost 31% of foreign students, some from “areas of the world that are very radicalised”, Trump said, “Why would 31 percent? Why would a number be so big? I think they (Harvard University) should have a cap of maybe around 15 per cent. We have people that want to go to Harvard and other schools, but they can't get in because we have foreign students there.”

“I want to make sure that foreign students are people that can love our country. We don't want to see shopping centres explode. We don't want to see the kind of riots that you had, and I'll tell you what, many of those students didn't go anywhere, many of those students were troublemakers caused by the radical left,” Trump added.

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China says, ‘unreasonable’

Beijing condemned the United States' move to “unreasonably” revoke visas of Chinese students and stated on Thursday that it has formally lodged a protest with Washington after the announcement made by Secretary of State Rubio.

"The US has unreasonably cancelled Chinese students' visas under the pretext of ideology and national rights," foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said, as reported by AFP.

“China firmly opposes this and has lodged representations with the US,” Ning added.

(With inputs from agencies)