Over 700 US scholars of China urge Rubio to pause student visa limits

More than 700 American scholars of China have signed a petition urging US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to pause moves to impose visa restrictions against Chinese students.

The petition sent to America’s top diplomat on Friday comes about a week after he announced the State Department would “aggressively” revoke visas of Chinese students, including those with “connections” to China’s Communist Party and in “critical fields” as well as apply extra scrutiny to future applicants from mainland China and Hong Kong.

In their letter, the group of primarily US-based academics argued that the policy would have a “direct negative impact on US innovation and competitiveness, as well as undercut the long-term economic strength of the higher education sector in the United States”.

“We therefore urge you to reconsider this move and to pause any implementation of the planned policy change pending further review, including consultation with key stakeholders both inside and outside the US government,” they wrote.

The 731 signatories, drawn from top US private and public universities as well as regional colleges, include Andrew Nathan, a professor of political science at Columbia University; Barry Naughton, a renowned authority on the Chinese economy at the University of California San Diego; and Jessica Chen Weiss, a professor of China studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.