China has lodged a formal complaint with Washington over US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's statement. Rubio said the United States would revoke visas for Chinese students studying at American universities.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said the decision was unfair and "seriously undermines the legitimate rights of Chinese students and disrupts normal cultural exchanges between the two countries."
"This discriminatory policy by the US exposes the false nature of its declarations of freedom and openness," he said.
Marco Rubio said the US would step up its efforts to revoke visas for students with ties to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in strategic fields. He added that new visa standards would be developed to tighten control over China and Hong Kong applications.
China sent about 277,000 students to the US in the 2023-24 academic year.
