Marco Rubio wrote on X: "The U.S. will begin revoking visas of Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields."

In a separate statement, he said: "Under President Trump’s leadership, the U.S. State Department will work with the Department of Homeland Security to aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields."

He said: "We will also revise visa criteria to enhance scrutiny of all future visa applications from the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong."

As per the Open Doors 2024 Report, 277,398 students from China study in the US.

China is the second-largest source of foreign students in the US after India.

China Reacts

The Chinese government reacted to the US decision and described the move as 'unjustified'.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told media: "The U.S. decision to revoke Chinese student visas is fully unjustified. It uses ideology and national security as pretext."

She said: "It seriously hurts the lawful rights and interests of international students from China, and disrupts people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. China firmly opposes it and has protested to the U.S. over the decision."

She further said: "This politically motivated and discriminatory move exposes the U.S. hypocrisy over freedom and openness. It will further damage the image and reputation of the U.S. itself."