Biden administration should hold true to its word
The solemn representation Beijing made to Washington on Tuesday over the latter’s unfair and irrational treatment of Chinese students arriving to study in the United States is fully justified.
Since August, dozens of Chinese nationals holding valid visas have been denied entry when returning to school from overseas travel or from visiting relatives in China. Some of them have even been groundlessly interrogated for hours, had their electronic devices checked and in some cases been forcibly deported from the country.
As Chinese ambassador to the US Xie Feng said, the US government’s treatment of the Chinese students is “absolutely unacceptable”, for not only the nature of relevant behaviors of the US side but also the US’ continuous wrongdoings even after Washington and Beijing reached common understanding during the meeting of the leaders of the two countries in San Francisco in November last year on the necessity and importance of boosting student and other exchanges to shore up the two countries’ relations.
Nearly 290,000 Chinese students study in the US now, accounting for about one-third of the foreign students in the country. They not only make tremendous contributions to the US’ revenue from education but also help deepen people-to-people exchanges and cultural and educational communication between the two countries. More than 1.3 million Chinese students study abroad now, and they are welcomed by the host countries and act as bridges promoting mutual understandings of different cultures and civilizations.
The Chinese students have represented a major source of professional immigrants to the US since the first batch of Chinese students arrived in the US in the early 1870s. They have been playing an important role in many fields of the US society until now. It is a handful of China-bashing politicians in the US who are blind to these facts that have tirelessly sought to incite the current wave of anti-Chinese moves that date back to the previous Donald Trump administration as a part of its China containment strategy, citing baseless spying charges and “national security” concerns.
The US’ approach is typical, selective, discriminatory and political law enforcement, as the Chinese embassy in the US said in a statement. That’s why China urges the US to implement its statement of welcoming Chinese students, stop using national security as an excuse to suppress and restrict Chinese students, and effectively protect the safety and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese scholars and students in the US.
The vitality of ideas comes from mutual learning, and the development of science is inseparable from exchanges. Politicizing and instrumentalizing educational exchanges and cooperation will block the path of study for international students and change their life plans. It will also lead to the loss of top talents for the US and harm the scientific research environment and innovation vitality of the US.