US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that US colleges would struggle without Chinese students, amid a backlash from his base after he suggested he could let 600,000 Chinese college students into the country as part of trade talks with the economic rival.
Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for China's foreign ministry, said on Wednesday that the ministry hoped the US would follow through on Trump's statement welcoming Chinese students and stop the "unprovoked harassment, interrogation, and deportation" of Chinese students.
"I hear so many stories that we're not going to allow their students," Trump told reporters at the White House as trade talks with China are ongoing. "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," he continued.
Speaking at a White House Cabinet meeting a day after first floating the idea, Trump said: “I think it's very insulting to say students can't come here because they'll go out and start building schools and they'll be able to survive it. But I like that their students come here. I like that other countries' students come here. And you know what would happen if they didn't? Our college system would go to hell very quickly. And it wouldn't be the top colleges, so it'd be colleges that struggle on the bottom. And you take out 300,000 or 600,000 students out of the system.”
Trump added that, while vetting would remain strict, Chinese students help keep many US colleges financially afloat.
The statement sparked backlash from conservative allies who see the move as a contradiction to his “America First” stance and previous restrictive visa policies.
Conservative figures, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and former adviser Steve Bannon sharply criticised the plan, arguing that granting 600,000 visas could undermine US graduates, national security, and intellectual property protections.
Immigration groups echoed concerns, calling for tighter controls on students in sectors tied to strategic technologies like quantum computing and artificial intelligence.
