U.S. President Donald Trump has announced that he will allow up to 600,000 Chinese students to study in America.
The move is widely seen as a reversal of policy and comes amid trade negotiations with Beijing.
“I hear so many stories that we’re not going to allow their students,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday.
Donald Trump said 600,000 Chinese students can study in the U.S.
Highlights
- Trump announced that he would allow up to 600,000 Chinese students to study in the U.S., marking a policy reversal amid trade talks with Beijing.
- The decision aims to ease China-U.S. tensions and support American universities that rely on Chinese student tuition.
- Some MAGA supporters, including Marjorie Taylor-Greene and Laura Loomer, strongly oppose the student visa increase.
- Previous Trump administration actions targeted foreign students with stricter visa rules and bans, especially at Harvard.
Image credits: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
“We’re going to allow their students to come in. It's very important, 600,000 students. It’s very important. But we’re going to get along with China.”
His remarks came as he met with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, who asked him to help secure peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Trump told Myung he would like to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and have talks.
His student visa move signals a shift in tone towards China after both countries imposed steep tariffs on each other when Trump retook office in January.
Trump had imposed a 145% tariff on China, and Beijing retaliated with a 125% tariff on some U.S. imports.
Trade talks remain ongoing to secure a final deal, but an extension has been granted for terms temporarily agreed to in May.
That deal saw the U.S. cut tariffs on Chinese imports to 30% and China lower its levy on U.S. goods to 10%.
Trump’s latest student visa announcement could be used to ease tensions with China and bolster negotiations.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle that Trump’s view was that American universities could go out of business without Chinese students.
“The president’s point of view is that what would happen if you didn't have those 600,000 students is that you’d empty them from the top,” he told host Laura Ingraham.
Image credits: Jiang Qiming/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images
“All the students would go up to better schools, and the bottom 15% of universities and colleges would go out of business in America.
“So his view is he’s taking a rational economic view, which is classic Donald Trump.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in May that he would “aggressively” revoke visas for Chinese students, “including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.”
Then in June, Trump appeared to walk back his stance on the matter, saying he had always “been in favor” of allowing Chinese students to study in the U.S.
“I think it’s a great thing,” he said at the time. “It’s also good for our schools. It’s good for our country.”
Trump’s MAGA fan base has slammed his announcement
Image credits: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Trump’s estimate of 600,000 Chinese students being granted visas would be the largest number ever, surpassing the pre-pandemic high of 370,000 in 2019.
The latest figures show that there are about 270,000 Chinese students enrolled at U.S. universities.
Trump’s new announcement has been slammed by some of his MAGA fan base, including Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor-Greene.
“We should not let in 600,000 CHINESE students to attend American colleges and universities that may be loyal to the CCP,” she wrote on X.
“If refusing to allow these Chinese students to attend our schools causes 15% of them to fail then these schools should fail anyways because they are being propped up by the CCP.”
“Why are we allowing 600,000 students from China to replace our American student’s opportunities?”
Right-wing influencer and Trump ally Laura Loomer also slammed the plans.
“If we are only mass deporting 1,000 illegals each day but allowing 600,000 Chinese spies to come to our country, how can we call them mass deportations? Do the math,” she wrote on X.
“We will never get rid of the millions who came in under Biden. It’s basic math.”
In a separate post addressed to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, she added, “Nobody, I repeat nobody, wants 600,000 more Chinese ‘students’ aka Communist spies in the United States.”
Since the start of his second term, Trump has aggressively targeted foreign students.
In May, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem accused Harvard of coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on campus and revoked the university’s right to enroll international students.
The Ivy League launched legal challenges and ultimately blocked the government from enforcing the ban, meaning Harvard can continue to enroll international students amid ongoing legal proceedings.
Trump also demanded to know the names of all international students studying at Harvard and their disciplinary records, particularly with regard to student protests.
Shortly afterward, the administration instructed U.S. embassies around the world to stop scheduling new appointments for student visas.
The Trump administration has repeatedly targeted foreign students
Image credits: Lane Turner/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
That ban was lifted in mid-June and visa applications were allowed to resume, but under stricter guidelines for enhanced visa screening and social media vetting.
All applicants applying for F, M, and J non-immigrant classifications will be required to set their social media profiles to public.
The State Department at the time said the U.S. must be “vigilant” to ensure those applying for a visa “do not intend to harm Americans and our national interests.”
In March, Rubio also revoked the visas of at least 300 foreign students amid a crackdown on campus protests, particularly pro-Palestinian demonstrations.