Wang Wenbin, spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry, speaks at a press conference in Beijing on Jan 31, 2024. (PHOTO / FOREIGN MINISTRY, CHINA)

Beijing has urged Washington to stop oppressing and restricting Chinese students studying in the country under the pretext of national security, vowing to take measures to safeguard its national security and the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese citizens.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin made the remarks on Wednesday in response to reports that Chinese students were once again interrogated when entering the United States at the Washington Dulles International Airport.

It is reported that the US law-enforcement personnel repeatedly asked questions about the students' political background and academic research, and asked them to provide internal information about the Chinese government in order to get released.

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After refusing, the US law-enforcement personnel decided to cancel their visas, banning them from entering the country and forcibly deporting the students.

The US move is driven by ideological bias, which is discriminatory and politically motivated law enforcement without bottom lines, and will eventually undermine its own image.

Wang Wenbin, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman 

At least eight Chinese students with valid travel documents have been harassed, interrogated and deported by the US at the Dulles International Airport for no reason since the end of November, according to the spokesman.

China has made serious demarches to the US over the move, which undermines Chinese citizens' lawful and legitimate rights and interests, disrupts bilateral people-to-people exchanges and cross-border travels, Wang said.

While portraying itself as an open, inclusive place for academic freedom and boasting about "science without borders", the US overstretched the concept of national security, politicized and weaponized academic research, and repeatedly oppressed Chinese students, which infringed upon their basic human rights, Wang said.
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The US practice caused the "chilling effect" and poisoned the atmosphere for bilateral people-to-people exchanges, he said.

In recent cases, the US law-enforcement personnel induced and infiltrated the victims, which posed a direct threat to China's national security, Wang said.

This photo taken on Oct 11, 2023 shows the US Capitol building in Washington, DC, the United States. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

"The US move is driven by ideological bias, which is discriminatory and politically motivated law enforcement without bottom lines, and will eventually undermine its own image," he said.

"China urges the US to earnestly protect the security and the lawful rights and interests of Chinese students and scholars in the US and remove barriers in China-US people-to-people exchanges and cross-border travels," Wang said.

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When answering a query regarding US presidential election, Wang said the presidential election is the domestic affair of the United States. China, committed to the principle of non-interference in others' internal affairs, will not interfere in the US presidential election.

"No matter who is elected as US president, we hope the United States will work with us in the same direction, follow the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, and advance the steady, sound and sustainable growth of bilateral relations for the benefit of the two countries and the world at large," the spokesperson said.

Wang said developing China-US relations is in the fundamental interest of the two peoples and two countries and meets the expectation of the international community.

China will continue to firmly uphold its sovereignty, security, and development interests, he added. 

With Xinhua inputs