The United States is reportedly planning to cancel the visas of thousands of graduate students and researchers from China according to sources with knowledge of the matter.

Chinese graduate students & researchers in U.S. may have their visas cancelled

Around 3,000 to 5,000 Chinese graduate students and researchers with direct ties to universities affiliated with the People's Liberation Army (PLA), China's military, will be expelled, reported The New York Times.

The ones who are currently in the U.S. will have their visas cancelled and will be expelled, said the sources, while those already outside the United States will be barred from returning.

The reason for this was to clamp down on spying and intellectual property theft that some Chinese nationals are suspected of engaging in on U.S. university and college campuses, reported Reuters.

Universities in the U.S. are expected to push back against the Trump administration’s move, if the plans proceed.

Around 360,000 Chinese nationals who attend schools in the U.S. generate economic activity of about US$14 billion (S$19.78 billion) annually, largely from tuition and other fees.

Move will likely worsen U.S.-China ties

The decision on the visas is likely to further worsen ties between U.S. and China, as the Chinese government could retaliate by imposing visa and educational bans on Americans in China as well.

While the plan is not directly related to the bilateral tensions over Hong Kong, the timing appears to be part of an overall pressure campaign against China, Reuters reported.

On May 28, 2020, China's legislature approved controversial national security laws which would allow Chinese "national security agencies" to operate in Hong Kong.

The move has been considered by experts to be a "killer blow" to the city's autonomy and freedom as a Special Administrative Region (SAR).

Top image via Xinhua