China’s US embassy cautions students after ‘interrogating, harassing’ treatment at Washington airport
- Beijing lodges formal protest for allegedly blocking entry of Chinese students arriving at Dulles International Airport
- Complaint says handling by US customs officers ‘seriously impacted’ students studying abroad, causing ‘psychological harm’
Beijing’s embassy in Washington accused US authorities of “unwarrantedly” interrogating, harassing, cancelling the visas of and even deporting several students from China with valid travel permits upon their arrival at Dulles International Airport near the US capital.
In a statement on Monday, the embassy said the students had been returning to the US after holidays in China, trips to a third country or travelling there to start courses but were subjected to lengthy questioning and scrutiny of their electronic devices upon arrival.
Some students were detained for more than 10 hours and not allowed to contact anyone during that time, according to the embassy.
“The practices of US border enforcement officials have seriously impacted the Chinese students’ academic pursuits and caused great psychological harm,” the Chinese embassy said, adding that they had made “solemn representations” to Washington.
The complaint came as the two powers have been taking steps to stabilise the relationship, with calls for restoring people-to-people exchanges as a key part.
During the meeting between US national security adviser Jake Sullivan and top China diplomat Wang Yi in Bangkok, Thailand last week, the two sides agreed to “take further measures to expand people-to-people exchanges between the two countries”, according to a Chinese statement on Saturday.