WASHINGTON (Realist English). China’s ambassador to the United States Xie Feng on Wednesday cautioned against undermining cultural and educational exchanges, just hours after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security unveiled a proposal to sharply restrict visa rules for foreign students, scholars and journalists on national security grounds.
“Going forward, we need to bring our people closer, rather than sow fear and hostility,” Xie said at a ceremony honoring Chinese and American soldiers who fought side by side during World War II. He added: “We need to encourage and facilitate travel and people-to-people exchanges, rather than erect barriers. We need to promote win-win cooperation, make the list of cooperation longer, rather than seek decoupling and turn back the will of history.”
The proposed U.S. rule would cap the stays of Chinese journalists at 90 days, while reporters from Hong Kong, Macau and other countries would face a 240-day limit, though extensions could be requested. For international students and scholars on F and J visas, stays would be capped at four years. Officials argued that the sharp increase in visa entries has created “a challenge to the department’s ability to monitor and oversee these non-immigrants while they are in the U.S.”
The move adds to growing frictions between Washington and Beijing over education, media access and technological exchange, even as both governments continue to stress the importance of stabilizing relations.
