China Hawks Target Students, Tech in Trade War

Elizabeth Economy, senior fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution, breaks down the US-China relationship as the Trump administration makes moves to further curb chip exports and revoke the visas of Chinese students studying in the US.

Just weeks after US President Donald Trump declared a “total reset” with China following a trade truce in Geneva, tensions are rising again between the world’s biggest economies.

Trump’s administration on Wednesday announced it would start revoking Chinese student visas, while also introducing new restrictions on the sales of chip design software and reportedly some jet engine parts to China. That came shortly after it sought to block Huawei Technologies Co. from selling advanced AI chips anywhere in the world, prompting an angry rebuke from Beijing.

“Geneva was positive because both sides are officially talking to each other,” said Alfredo Montufar-Helu, senior adviser to the China Center at the Conference Board. “But the negotiations didn’t really deal with the core issues that are driving competition between the two sides. Chief of them all — technological dominance.”

While US and Chinese negotiators brought down tariffs from eye-watering levels for 90-days, they still need to hammer out a deal to rebalance trade — that took years in Trump’s first term. Both sides are also in disagreement over Beijing’s role in the illegal fentanyl trade, as well as rare earths and chip controls.

In a sign any larger deal is a way off, Trump has yet to speak with his Chinese counterpart since returning to office, despite suggesting several times such a call was imminent.

The crackdown on Chinese students — the second largest international group in the US — was unveiled by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who before taking office was twice sanctioned by Beijing. That dispelled any notion China hawks within the Trump administration are losing influence, after trade officials in Switzerland showed a preference for dealmaking with Beijing.

China’s Foreign Ministry called the visa policy “discriminatory” at a regular briefing in Beijing on Thursday, with spokeswomen Mao Ning saying it would “only further undermine” America’s global reputation. That relatively restrained response, along with the fact officials didn’t signal any retaliation, suggests Beijing is trying to avoid sending ties into another tailspin.

Still, the decision to put Chinese students under fresh scrutiny highlights the deep suspicion underpinning bilateral ties, with Republicans and Democrats alike now viewing China as a major threat to American security. For its part, Beijing has launched an anti-spying campaign that casts a wide net of suspicion on foreigners, particularly from the US.

John Moolenaar, chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, denied the US actions were designed to target ordinary people in the Asian country. “It’s the aggression of the Chinese Communist Party that we’re pushing back on,” he told Bloomberg Television.

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