On Wednesday US time, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington would start “aggressively” revoking visas issued to 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,” he added.

On Thursday, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said: “The unreasonable decision to revoke the visas of Chinese students under the pretext of ideology and national security seriously harms the lawful rights and interests of Chinese students and disrupts exchanges between us.

“Such a politicised and discriminatory move lays bare the US lie of its so-called freedom and openness and will only further undermine its image in the world and national reputation.”