China said on Wednesday it hopes the United States will welcome more Chinese students, after President Donald Trump said he intended to allow 600,000 students to enter the country.
Trump said on Monday that he was going to allow more Chinese students to “come in”.
“We’re going to allow — it’s very important, 600,000 students. It’s very important,” he told reporters at the White House.
“We’re going to get along with China,” he added.
The US State Department has revoked 6,000 student visas since Secretary of State Marco Rubio took office seven months ago, it said this month.
The State Department did not break down the visas by nationality but Rubio had vowed to be aggressive in targeting students from China.
Beijing said on Wednesday it hoped the United States would “translate President Trump’s statement of welcoming Chinese students into concrete actions”.
The United States should “stop groundless harassment, questioning and repatriation of Chinese students, and effectively safeguard their legitimate rights and interests”, foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters at a briefing.
“Educational exchanges and cooperation contribute to enhancing communication and understanding among people of all countries,” he added.
Trump in June ramped up his campaign against top US universities, banning visas for all foreign students coming to attend Harvard.
In response, China’s foreign ministry said it “opposed the politicisation of educational cooperation” and vowed to “resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of its overseas students”.
