The Trump administration has made tough remarks, threatening to revoke Chinese students' visas. This administration has gone to great lengths, and the impact on China-US relations will be beyond imagination.

US Secretary of State Rubio announced on Wednesday that the US would begin revoking visas for Chinese students, including those "with connections to the Chinese government or studying in key areas."

[US Secretary of State Rubio announced on Wednesday that the US would begin revoking Chinese students' visas.]

In addition, the Trump administration will also modify visa standards and strengthen future reviews for all Chinese students' visas.

A senior White House official confirmed to Axios that this order applies to "all Chinese students" and emphasized that Rubio's statement coincides with tariff negotiations between the two countries.

"Everything is interconnected," the official said.

Why did the Trump administration suddenly target Chinese students at this time?

[A senior White House official confirmed that this order applies to "all Chinese students."]

In the short term, as the White House official said, this move serves the tariff negotiations. In the current round of the trade war between China and the US, Trump has few cards left. In tense trade negotiations, the US needs to create such a card to pressure China.

At the same time, this move by the Trump administration further threatens major US universities. International students are an important financial source for many schools, and Chinese students account for a significant proportion of them.

Harvard University and other prestigious institutions have the resources to stand up to the White House and sue, but other schools may not be able to do so.

In addition, the Trump administration intends to use restrictions on international students to divert domestic conflicts, resonate with populism, create xenophobic public opinion, and cater to conservative trends domestically. Rubio mentioned when talking about the new visa policy:

"President Trump's goal is clear: we put America first, which means that our priorities in everything from trade to immigration should benefit Americans, rather than benefit other countries at the expense of our people."

[The Trump administration also intends to use restrictions on international students to divert domestic conflicts.]

In the long term, the US views Chinese students as potential channels for technology transfer under the pretext of "national security" and "intellectual property protection," intending to curb China's rise in key technological fields by tightening visa policies.

In fact, since 2018, the US has already shortened the validity period of student visas in related fields to one year, and many US science and engineering departments have tightened their policies toward Chinese students. The upgrade to revoking visas is not surprising.

It is worth noting that as Secretary of State, Rubio undoubtedly plays a key role. When he was a senator, he spared no effort to promote tighter policies on Chinese students.

Now that he is the Secretary of State, he can act more freely.

The "key areas" mentioned by Rubio are actually the 18 areas listed in the US "Critical and Emerging Technologies List" (CET).

For example, semiconductor engineering, aerospace, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, robotics, etc. This document is regularly updated by the US government each year, and the areas listed are considered crucial for US national security and great power technological competition.

[The "key areas" mentioned by Rubio are the 18 areas listed in the "Critical and Emerging Technologies List."]

Clearly, the US focuses on science and engineering when targeting Chinese students. Even if the visa revocation policy is later canceled, it is expected that the difficulty for Chinese students to study in US science and engineering departments will increase dramatically.

In fact, as early as last year, some universities in Florida had already banned Chinese students from entering laboratories.

Of course, liberal arts students will also be indirectly affected. This trend has become increasingly obvious in recent years—In 2023, the number of Chinese students in the US decreased by over 4%, while India surpassed China as the country with the most international students in the US.

For now, the action by the US to revoke Chinese students' visas might only be a temporary measure, and there could be other changes in the future that need to be observed.

One aspect is what was mentioned earlier: this move by the Trump administration is mainly to add chips to the tariff war;

On the other hand, many US universities, especially second-tier and third-tier institutions, need to recruit international students to support their finances, and Chinese students are often the most important source of students.

[International students are an important financial source for many US universities, and Chinese students make up a large proportion.]

"Cutting someone else's financial path is like killing their parents"—Trump's "reciprocal tariffs" were even challenged in federal court by American businesses; the visa policy for Chinese students could naturally be challenged by US universities as well.

In summary, the visa restrictions announced by the US government do not mean that the path for Chinese students to pursue higher education in the US is completely blocked, but there is still room for maneuver.

However, the "chilling effect" brought by this move from the Trump administration is undeniable for these students going to the US.

Even if the visa policies between China and the US return to normal in the future, academic exchanges between the two countries are unlikely to return to the previous state.

It is worth mentioning that on the issue of student visas, the Trump administration is not just targeting China. Recently, Rubio has attempted to initiate an action to cancel visas for foreign students who are labeled as "anti-Semitic" or "supporting Hamas."

Looking beyond appearances, the US visa restrictions under the pretext of "national security" are actually part of its efforts to maintain technological hegemony.

In the short term, this will severely damage academic trust between China and the US, but in the long run, the US is damaging its own innovative inclusiveness, while China will迎来 a tide of high-end talent returning—The Trump administration is making an irreversible mistake.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7509769504671547940/

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