"Chinese International Students Face Visa Denials Amid US-China Tensions"

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Following the Trump administration, the Biden administration has also seen intensified US-China conflicts, resulting in Chinese international students in the US facing difficulties in obtaining visas.

According to the Associated Press on the 13th (local time), over 500 Chinese students recently had their visas canceled en masse due to technology leakage prevention policies implemented by former President Trump. The AP reported that the bilateral conflicts have expanded comprehensively over issues including technology and security, the origin of COVID-19, human rights abuses in Hong Kong and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and disputes in areas such as the South China Sea, affecting even students.

The US is blocking visa issuance to individuals affiliated with universities contributing to the Chinese People's Liberation Army or military modernization. Some students claimed they were denied visas after being questioned about their alma maters, such as Beijing University of Technology and Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

The US government believes that Chinese students and researchers studying in the US participate in programs that transfer sensitive information, such as medical and computer data, back to China. The US State Department analyzed in a report last year that "joint research institutions, academia, and private companies are often used without their knowledge or consent to build future military systems for the People's Liberation Army."

Chinese authorities strongly protested, including requesting the lifting of visa restrictions when US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman visited China in July, but the US Embassy in China maintains that it issues visas sufficiently to all qualified individuals.