3 hours ago
3
United States President Donald Trump has announced that helium volition let 600,000 Chinese students into US universities.
His announcement connected Monday, which marks a sharp departure from the Trump administration’s crackdown connected Chinese students launched earlier this year, has caught his blimpish basal disconnected guard.
Here is much astir what Trump is saying now, successful opposition to what the medication has said successful the past – and however immoderate wrong his Make America Great Again (MAGA) enactment basal are reacting.
What has Trump announced astir Chinese students?
During a gathering connected Monday astatine the Oval Office with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, reporters asked Trump whether helium would conscionable Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Trump responded: “President Xi would similar maine to travel to China. It’s a precise important relationship. As you know, we are taking a batch of wealth successful from China due to the fact that of the tariffs and antithetic things.”
He past talked astir Chinese students: “I perceive truthful galore stories astir ‘We are not going to let their students’, but we are going to let their students to travel in. We are going to let it. It’s precise important – 600,000 students.”
On Tuesday, during a furniture meeting, Trump reiterated his caller sentiments astir Chinese students, saying, “I told this to President Xi that we’re honoured to person their students here.
“Now, with that, we cheque and we’re careful, we spot who is there.”
Trump said that the US would conflict without Chinese students.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Trump told Xi during a telephone telephone successful June that “the US loves to person Chinese students coming to survey successful America”.
How has the Chinese authorities reacted?
Speaking astatine a regular quality league connected Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun expressed anticipation that Trump would enactment connected his committedness to admit Chinese students into US universities.
Guo besides urged the US to halt “unprovoked harassment, interrogation and deportation” of Chinese students.
What has the Trump medication said astir Chinese students successful the past?
In precocious May, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Trump would “aggressively” revoke the visas of Chinese students.
In an X post, Rubio wrote: “The US volition statesman revoking visas of Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party oregon studying successful captious fields.”
The Trump medication did not supply wide details astatine the clip astir which students would beryllium affected by the revocations. Observers viewed the little announcement arsenic intentionally vague.
“I deliberation the vagueness is portion of the [Trump administration’s] strategy, due to the fact that it is not astir a factual policy,” Kyle Chan, a researcher connected China astatine Princeton University, told Al Jazeera successful May. “I don’t deliberation it’s really, astatine the extremity of the day, astir nationalist information and trying to find the fewer individuals who whitethorn airs a genuine risk.”
In August, the US State Department revoked 6,000 planetary pupil visas due to the fact that of violations of US instrumentality and overstays, according to the BBC, which quoted an unnamed section official. The nationalities of the students whose visas had been revoked were not known.
While Rubio did not specify what qualifies arsenic a “critical field”, successful March, a US legislature committee of the House of Representatives sent a letter to enactment astatine aggregate US universities requesting information astir Chinese nationals enrolled successful precocious science, technology, engineering, and medicine programmes connected their campuses.
John Moolenaar, seat of the legislature committee, claimed that the Chinese Communist Party was placing Chinese researchers successful apical US institutions to entree delicate technology.
How galore Chinese students are determination successful the US?
During the 2023-2024 world year, 277,398 Chinese students were enrolled successful US universities, making up 24.5 percent of the 1.13 cardinal planetary students, according to the yearly Open Doors study from the Institute of International Education (IIE) and the US State Department.
According to the report, Chinese students were 2nd lone to Indian students, who constituted 29 percent of planetary students successful the 2023-2024 year.
During the 2022-2023 world year, Chinese students made up 27.4 percent of the planetary pupil population.
The proportionality was adjacent higher successful 2020-2021, erstwhile 34.7 percent of planetary students successful the US were from China.
What is down Trump’s latest announcement astir admitting Chinese students?
During an interrogation with Fox News connected Monday, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said Trump’s caller statements stem from a “rational economical view”.
Lutnick said that 15 percent of US universities would spell retired of concern without planetary students.
International students astatine US colleges and universities contributed $43.8bn to the US system and supported much than 378,000 jobs during the 2023-2024 world year, according to information released by the nonprofit organisation, NAFSA: Association of International Educators.
According to NAFSA, determination were 1.1 cardinal planetary students successful the US, each contributing astir $39,800 connected average.
By that calculation, the 277,398 Chinese students successful the US successful 2023-24 would person contributed successful excess of $11bn to the US system that year.
How person Trump supporters reacted?
Trump’s caller statements person drawn ire from immoderate wrong his MAGA base.
Republican Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote successful an X station connected Monday: “If refusing to let these Chinese students to be our schools causes 15 percent of them to neglect past these schools should neglect anyways due to the fact that they are being propped up by the CCP.”
We should not fto successful 600,000 CHINESE students to be American colleges and universities that whitethorn beryllium loyal to the CCP.
If refusing to let these Chinese students to be our schools causes 15% of them to neglect past these schools should neglect anyways due to the fact that they are being…
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) August 26, 2025
Trump state and far-right net property Laura Loomer made a bid of posts connected X opposing Trump’s thought of bringing successful Chinese students. One of the posts read: “Nobody, I repetition nobody, wants 600,000 much Chinese ‘students’ aka Communist spies successful the United States.”
News tract Axios reported that erstwhile White House advisor and Trump adjutant Steve Bannon said connected Tuesday: “Any overseas pupil that does travel present ought to person an exit visa stapled to his oregon her diploma to permission immediately. Give them 30 days.”
Right-wing net property Christopher Rufo wrote successful an X station connected Monday: “We can’t judge 600,000 Chinese students. If anything, we should trim the fig of Chinese visas, particularly for students with governmental connections to the CCP.”
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is the main enactment successful China, with astir 100 cardinal card-carrying members. China has astir 400 cardinal families, truthful connected average, 1 successful each 4 Chinese citizens has an contiguous comparative successful the CCP.
English (US) ·