Advertisement
Advertisement
US-China relations
Get more with myNEWS
A personalised news feed of stories that matter to you
Learn more
Visa applicants wait to enter the US Embassy in Beijing in July 2018. Photo: AP

US lawmakers want to bar Chinese military scientists from getting student or research visas

  • PLA Visa Security Act would compel White House to identify institutions affiliated with or funded by People’s Liberation Army
  • People currently or formerly employed or sponsored by such entities would be not be allowed into US on student or research visas

Republicans in Congress want to bar Chinese military scientists from obtaining visas to study or work in the United States, drawing criticism on Wednesday from Beijing.

Companion bills in the House and Senate would compel the White House to identify a list of research and scientific institutions that the president determines are affiliated with or funded by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.

The PLA Visa Security Act introduced on Tuesday would prevent people currently or formerly employed or sponsored by such entities from entering the US on student or research visas.

The legislation landed as the two global powers are locked in a fierce trade showdown that has bruised US-China ties, roiled world markets and led US President Donald Trump to boost punitive tariffs on Chinese merchandise imports.

Why US visas are a passport to uncertainty for China’s hi-tech researchers

Senator Tom Cotton, a bill co-sponsor, said “keeping PLA scientists out of our research laboratories is a basic act of self-defence”.

“Student and research visas ought to be reserved for those foreign nationals who want to contribute to our universities and research institutions, not for our foreign adversaries and spies that wish to do us harm,” Senator Chuck Grassley added in a statement.

US Senator Chuck Grassley speaks to reporters on his way from the Senate floor after a vote on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters

China’s Foreign Ministry said the exchanges are in line with the countries’ common interests and should not be politicised.

Washington has “without evidence suspected the motives of Chinese scholars, students, and scientific and technical personnel in the United States, unreasonably restricting and harassing them”, ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said.

It was not immediately clear whether the measure would pass the Democratic-led House of Representatives, but a leadership aide said the issue “ought to be examined”.

Post