Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun. Photo: VCG

US President Donald Trump has said he welcomes more Chinese students in the US and has a target of around 600,000, double the current number of Chinese students. When asked to comment on Trump's statement, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said that exchanges and cooperation on education help enhance interactions and understanding between people from all countries.

"We hope the US will act on President Trump's commitment to welcoming Chinese students to study in the country, stop groundlessly harassing, interrogating or repatriating them, and earnestly protect their legitimate and lawful rights and interests," Guo said.

During a meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump said that "I hear so many stories about 'We are not going to allow Chinese students,' but we are going to allow their students to come in. We are going to allow it. It's very important - 600,000 students," the Associated Press reported.

According to The New York Times on Tuesday Trump doubled down during a cabinet meeting at the White House. "It's very insulting to say students can't come here," he said. "I like that their students come here. I like that other countries' students come here."

He added: "And you know what would happen if they didn't? Our college system would go to hell very quickly," said the report.

There were an estimated 277,398 Chinese international students studying in the US during the 2023-24 school year. Together with students from India, the group makes up more than half of the international students in the country. In 2023 alone, Chinese students contributed upward of $14 billion to the American economy, according to NBC news.

AP News, citing an analysis by NAFSA, an association of international educators, found that international students studying at US colleges and universities contributed $43.8 billion to the US economy and supported 378,175 jobs during the 2023-2024 academic year.

Lü Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Wednesday that Chinese students are an incremental factor in China-US relations. The current figure of around 300,000 students is relatively balanced, and it is unrealistic to double these numbers in the short term, but maintaining and encouraging exchanges would benefit both sides.

"Trump's remarks, in contrast to US Senator Marco Rubio's earlier call for large-scale visa cancelations, indicate a certain degree of policy adjustment," Lü noted.

Recently, the US has frequently carried out discriminatory, politically driven, and selective law enforcement against Chinese students arriving in the US. The students went through unfair treatment and were taken into small separate rooms for extended interrogation. Some were detained for more than 70 hours and repeatedly forced to answer questions that had nothing to do with their purpose of travel to the US. Some students' visas were even revoked, and they were banned from entering the country after being told they "might endanger national security," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

In response to related questions, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Friday that the US's moves severely violate the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese nationals, impede the flow of people between the two countries, and dampen China-US people-to-people exchanges. Every time such incidents occurred, China immediately protested to the US and urged the US to correct its wrongdoings.

"We urge the US to face the issue squarely, take China's concerns seriously, act on the US leader's statement of welcoming Chinese students, and stop the groundless interrogations, harassment and repatriation against them. China will continue working hard to protect the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese nationals going to the US," said the spokesperson.