Trump administration will ‘aggressively revoke’ Chinese student visas in major escalation with Beijing

The United States will “aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Wednesday in a major escalation of tensions with Beijing, and another blow to American higher education institutions.The plan was met with strong opposition from China, which said on Thursday it had lodged a formal protest with the US over what it called a “politically motivated and discriminatory” move.

The revocations will target Chinese students including “those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields,” Rubio 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,” he said, adding that the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security would work together on the plan.

The surprise announcement risks disrupting ongoing efforts by the US and China to de-escalate tensions, coming just weeks after both sides declared a 90-day truceover punishing tariffs on each other’s goods, and deepens the spiraling confrontation between President Donald Trump and the nation’s top universities.

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