Trump must rethink new limits on visas for Chinese students
To contend that graduates only want to go to the United States to steal hi-tech secrets is far-fetched and ignores the facts, but Beijing has to resist a tit-for-tat response
The short-sightedness of US President Donald Trump’s thinking towards China is blindingly on show in student visa restrictions that will soon take effect.
One-year limits and tougher scrutiny of applications will be imposed on graduates wanting to study in fields determined to be technologically sensitive, among them robotics, aviation and hi-tech manufacturing.
These are areas of keen competition that are perceived by both sides as crucial to driving growth and development, and central to Washington’s accusations of intellectual property theft. But mixing the attaining of academic knowledge with the ongoing trade dispute makes no sense; the losses hugely outweigh the questionable gains.
Trump’s inward-looking ideas for American rejuvenation and the perception that China is the biggest threat to his plans were bound to lead to a trade crisis. Last week he announced 25 per cent tariffs on US$50 billion of Chinese imports and restrictions on investment in the US hi-tech sector.
But also revealed were steps “to protect our national security” that involve “Chinese persons and entities related to the acquisition of industrially significant technology”.