China issued an official warning on Monday for Chinese students seeking to study in the United States, amid heightened tensions between the two countries.

The Ministry of Education urged students and academics to "raise their risk assessment" after an increase in visa delays and denials for those who have applied to study in the US."For a period of time now, some Chinese students in the US have faced situations where their visas were restricted or delayed, the period of validity was shortened, or (their applications) were rejected," it said in a statement, relayed by the Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

"The ministry wants to remind (Chinese) students and scholars to raise their risk assessment, strengthen their preventative awareness, and make the appropriate preparations."

The warning comes as China and the US have been locked in an intensifying trade war, with Beijing placing the blame for the deteriorating relationship on Washington over the weekend.
Beyond raising tariffs on billions of dollars worth of goods, the US has blacklisted Chinese telecoms giant Huawei on national security concerns, after which China said it would launch an "unreliable entity" list in apparent retaliation.

Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the state-run nationalist tabloid Global Times, tweeted earlier on Monday that the warning was a response to the "recent series of discriminatory measures the US took against Chinese students and can also be seen as a response to the US-initiated trade war".

China is the largest source of international students in the US, accounting for around 31 per cent of the total, according to the latest available figures from the US Department of Homeland Security.

In March, there were 369,364 students from China in the United States.

While the US continues to be the preferred destination for Chinese students, its appeal has waned slightly in recent years.

A survey by China's largest private education provider, New Oriental Education & Technology Group, found that 43 per cent of respondents ranked the US as their top choice in 2019, down from 49 per cent two years previously, followed by Britain, Australia and Canada.

Han Yi, from Beijing-based consultancy JLL Overseas Education, said he had seen cases where Chinese students in the US experienced extended delays in processing their visas and shortened visa validity.

But despite these difficulties and the ministry's warning, he did not expect the number of Chinese students visiting America to decrease significantly.

"A small decrease is possible," Han, who graduated from a master's programme at Ohio State University, said.

"Historically this is not the first time this type of thing has happened, so the impact may be limited. We hope things will improve."

Copyright (c) 2019. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.


Knp lu anjing" cina babi ke negara bule nan agung?