President Donald Trump explained during a Tuesday cabinet meeting why he changed his mind on allowing 600,000 Chinese students to study in the U.S.
Trump announced on Monday that his administration will allow 600,000 Chinese students to study in the U.S., despite previous plans by administration officials to revoke visas from Chinese students in March. Trump told Daily Caller White House correspondent Reagan Reese that he is “getting along very well” with Chinese President Xi Jianping and that it is an “honor” for Chinese students to come to the U.S.
“We’re getting along very well with China. And I’m getting along very well with President Xi. I think it’s very insulting to say students can’t come here because they’ll go out, they’ll start building schools and they’ll be able to survive it. But, I like that their students come here, I like that other countries’ students come here. And you know what would happen? If they didn’t, our college system would go to hell very quickly,” Trump said.
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced in March that the administration would “aggressively” revoke the visas of Chinese students, particularly those with ties to the Chinese Communist Party. This move changed in June when the U.S. and China reached an agreement to allow students to continue their studies.
Trump said his strong relationship with Xi is the reason why the U.S. will allow Chinese students to partake in its “tremendous college system.”
“We have a tremendous college system. Nobody’s even close. That’s why China sends them here. But you’re talking about millions of people and I’m honored to have the students from China come here and we’re just getting along very well with China,” Trump continued.
The president said during an Oval Office meeting on Monday that he plans to travel to China and meet with Xi, and added that the U.S. has “incredible cards” at its disposal that could “destroy China.” His planned visit comes at a time when the U.S. and China are negotiating trade agreements, in which Trump has continuously lowered tariffs and given China extended deadlines.
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