The Trump administration will “aggressively” revoke the visas of some Chinese students.

The visa crackdown will include those studying in “critical fields,” Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, said.

China is the second-largest country of origin for international students in the United States, behind India.

In the 2023-2024 school year, more than 270,000 international students were from China, making up around a quarter of all foreign students in America.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, the US State Department will work with the Department of Homeland Security to aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.

“We will also revise visa criteria to enhance scrutiny of all future visa applications from the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong,” Mr Rubio said in a White House statement.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington has not commented.

‘Decision will harm image of the US’

Reacting to the Trump administration’s blocking of international students from Harvard last week, Beijing said the decision will “only harm the image and international standing of the United States”. “The Chinese side has consistently opposed the politicisation of educational cooperation,” Mao Ning, the foreign ministry spokeswoman, said.

The action follows an announcement by Mr Rubio on Tuesday that the visa application process for those wanting to study abroad in the US was to be temporarily halted.

The Trump administration paused international student visa interviews as it considers requiring social media vetting for those wanting to study in the US.

A diplomatic cable sent out by Mr Rubio has instructed embassies to halt visa appointments “in preparation for an expansion of required social media screening”, according to Politico.

The government has previously announced it would start monitoring immigrants’ social media accounts for anti-Semitism, which could be used as grounds to revoke visas or permanent residence applications.

On Tuesday, Donald Trump cut all government funding to Harvard amid an escalating feud between the US president and America’s oldest university.

Mr Trump instructed federal agencies to cancel the final federal contracts with Harvard, which are worth an estimated $100 million, according to a letter obtained by The New York Times.

One administration official said the move represented the complete severance of the government’s longstanding business relationship with Harvard.