Against the backdrop of escalating strategic competition between China and the United States, the U.S. has once again tightened its visa policies for Chinese students studying in the country. Analysts believe that the U.S. is enhancing national security measures to prevent infiltration by the Chinese Communist Party.
On May 28, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the U.S. would begin revoking visas for some Chinese students, especially those studying in critical technology fields or those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party. This new policy continues the Trump administration’s consistent tough stance on China, aiming to prevent the CCP from engaging in technology theft and intelligence penetration through higher education.
In the 2023-2024 academic year, China was the second largest source of international students in the U.S., only behind India. The number of Chinese students studying in the U.S. exceeded 270,000, accounting for approximately one-fourth of all international students. The implementation of this policy adds another variable to the already tense educational exchange relationship between the U.S. and China.
Rubio stated, “Under President Trump’s leadership, the State Department will work with the Department of Homeland Security to actively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those associated with the Chinese Communist Party or studying in key fields.” He specifically mentioned the scrutiny of students in strategic technology fields such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and biotechnology.
Rubio emphasized, “We will not allow any hostile regime to acquire America’s core technology and defense knowledge through the education system.”
This policy is advancing in tandem with the Trump administration’s recent stricter controls on international students. Just the previous day, the administration announced a halt to all new international student visa interviews and prepared new guidelines to enhance social media scrutiny. Since 2019, visa applicants have been required to provide social media account information, a requirement that will now be further reinforced.
The U.S.’s concerns are not unfounded. In recent years, the FBI has repeatedly warned about CCP activities exploiting academic exchanges for intelligence purposes. Higher education institutions such as Harvard and Caltech have been implicated in cases involving alleged Chinese technology espionage.
Professor Sun Guoxiang from the Department of International Affairs and Business at Nanhua University in Taiwan stated in an interview with Da Ji Yuan that this reflects the trend of “weaponizing education and talent mobility,” emphasizing that this is indeed the most systematic and largest security screening system ever imposed on Chinese students.
Sun pointed out that this is not only a security measure but also a political signal, demonstrating a tough image of protecting America internally and countering the substantial threat posed by the CCP’s “civil-military fusion” policy and talent programs to U.S. technological security.
Recently, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security wrote to Harvard University questioning the institution’s collaboration with the CCP, training members of the “Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps,” and requesting the list of international students involved in violent or protest activities.
President Trump accused Harvard of being a “hotbed of liberalism and anti-Semitism” and has already cut $2.6 billion in federal grants to the university. He publicly stated, “I hope that foreign students coming here truly love our country.”
Trump proposed reducing the proportion of international students at Harvard University to about 15%, demonstrating his determination to scrutinize foreign students.
In fact, the Republican Party has recently been exerting pressure on U.S.-China university cooperation. Earlier this month, members of the House of Representatives called for Duke University to cease its cooperation with a Chinese university. Just hours before Rubio announced the new policy, Eastern Michigan University also announced the termination of engineering collaborations with two Chinese universities. Chairman of the House Committee on China Issues, John Moolenaar, urged all universities to completely sever cooperation ties with Chinese universities.
During Trump’s first term, the U.S. Department of Education investigated 19 cases of universities receiving foreign funding, with most schools failing to accurately report funds from “hostile forces” such as China and Russia.
Historian Li Yuanhua in Australia told Da Ji Yuan that strengthening social media scrutiny by the Trump administration is necessary. “Many people abuse the freedom of speech in the U.S. to act against the national interest, and while this oversight may seem stringent, it clearly establishes accountability principles.”
He estimates that more specific measures will be implemented in the future and that clear systems need to be established to prevent human rights violations.