Washington: Thousands of Chinese students believed by President Donald Trump’s administration to have links with China’s military are at risk of having their visas canceled, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday.
The decision could impact 3,000 to 5,000 Chinese students. Students in the United States will be expelled while those outside the country will not be allowed to return. The decision could be announced as early as this week, according to a current U.S. official.
The United States and China are at loggerheads over China’s decision to go forward with national security legislation for Hong Kong.
Suspected of theft
The decision tends to stop spying and intellectual property theft that some Chinese nationals are suspected of engaging in on U.S. university and college campuses, the source said.
The administration expected significant push back from those institutions because of their financial interests in Chinese student enrollment.
Economic activity
Some 360,000 Chinese nationals who attend U.S. schools annually earn about $14 billion, majorly from tuition and other fees.
Amid recession due to pandemic, the decision on the visas is likely to sour ties between the world’s top two economies.