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In a potential pullback after US officials registered with a US university two weeks ago and said they would “aggressively” revoke visas to increase screening of student visa applicants, President Trump said on Wednesday they had agreed to a student and China.
The president did not provide details about the students of the announcement posted on his Truth Social Platform as part of a brief summary of the trade agreement with China, which he said had been pending approval on each side.
However, the decision seemed to ease the clampdown of America’s second largest group of international students since May 28 when Secretary Marco Rubio suggested that the US would widely cancel China’s student visas and target individuals with Communist Party of China or “target individuals who have studied unnamed ‘significant areas’.
On Wednesday, Trump said that having Chinese students in US schools “is always a good thing for me!”
“The deal with China will be made subject to final approval from President XI and me. The full magnet, and the necessary rare earth, will be supplied in advance from China. Similarly, we will provide Chinese students to China, including Chinese students using the university (good with me!), Trump said in his all-cap post.
The State Department did not respond to requests for clarification regarding the visa issue, including the question of whether Rubio’s comments still apply.
The May policy to actively cancel student visas in China is driving higher education nationwide and across California. The university relies on full tuition fees paid by international students, and considers it essential for Chinese and other foreign students to be crucial for academic activities and missions to nurture a diverse campus.
The May 28th announcement of Rubio, and the current possibility of relaxation, exacerbated the growing uncertainty at universities that dealt with barrages of actions under Trump, including Grant’s cancellation, a federal investigation into alleged anti-Semitism and an investigation into enrollment policies.
International students were particularly in the crosshairs. Thousands of student visa cancellations have been filed in the spring due to as minor violations as speeding tickets, attempting to deport international students, pro-Palestinian university activists. There will be a suspension of appointments for new student visa applications while the Department expands its security review procedures, including examining social media profiles for pro-Palestinian languages and images.
Trump’s new travel ban, introduced Monday, led some universities to advise students coming from countries on the list to postpone registration.
Of the 1.1 million foreign students enrolled in American universities, approximately 277,000 are Chinese, second only to Indians. California’s 51,000 Chinese citizens make up more than a third of the state’s nearly 141,000 foreign students. The University of California has 17,832 Chinese students on all campuses. Locally, it has nearly 6,000 for USC and 2,208 for UCLA.
A UC spokesman declined to comment on Trump’s social media posts, pointing to a university’s previous statement on student visa restrictions in China, saying he was “concerned about the US State Department’s announcement to cancel visas for Chinese students.”
“Chinese students, as well as all international students, academics, faculty and staff, are important members of our university community and make significant contributions to our research, education, patient care and public service mission,” the statement said.
A USC spokesman did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
There is no data to refer to broad security concerns for Chinese students and academics, but there have been incidents in recent years. This week, the US said it had arrested a Chinese scientist arriving in Detroit to pursue research at the University of Michigan. Scientists from the University of Science and Technology in Wuhan have been accused of illegally smuggling biological materials related to worms that require government permission.
In an interview, Rep. Mark Takano (D-Riverside), a member of the Republican-led Education and Workforce Committee, calls the possibility of a Trump shift in China’s student visa an example of “tacos,” and uses the phrase “always sprinting through chickens,” reflecting the president’s policy change. Republicans argue that the president’s change is the strength of negotiations.
“By allowing Chinese students to come here, that’s part of the importance of the US being a draw for students from anywhere,” Takano said. “But he goes too far, interfering with the management of the university… putting American higher education companies at risk.”
Experts also said that having Chinese students here has political value in the United States as well.
“We bring Chinese students for the US [here] Emily Baum, associate professor of contemporary Chinese history at UC Irvine, said: “And that means they’re enjoying their lives here or regaining their value to China, influence China, and influence the political system.”
Some Chinese students may have decided to stay in China for the university after being turned off due to the Trump administration’s upset, one expert added.
Gaurav Khanna, an associate professor of economics at UC San Diego, said around 2000 China launched a major campaign to build a new university. Within about 50 years, the number of institutions in the country has doubled, he said.
“They invested a lot,” Kanna said. “In some respects, they say, ‘Hey, don’t risk your future going to American universities. Why don’t you go back to China and go to this really good university… do you have the funds for research?”
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