Trump wants 600,000 chinese students

By A Colleague
sent: tuesday, august 26, 2025 at 01:12:22 p.m. edt

Trump wants 600,000 Chinese students

Something that has annoyed me is that junior colleges can extend student visas. What could they possibly learn at a community college that they couldn't learn in china or india?

Yesterday Trump said he wanted 600,000 chinese students (ccp-approved, no doubt, who will study mostly science and engineering, at our universities.) At 277,000 we already take in about 10x too many, in my opinion.

I asked grok for details (grok's answer below) and I then voiced my opinion to my two senators and representative.

To grok: "What did Trump say about 600,000 chinese students?"

Grok's answer:

"on august 25, 2025, during an oval office meeting with south korean president Lee Jae-myung, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the United States would allow 600,000 chinese students to enter the country to study at American colleges and universities. this figure represents more than double the current number of chinese students enrolled in U.S. institutions, which stood at approximately 270,000-277,000 in recent years.

"Trump made the statement in response to reporters' questions about U.S.-china relations amid ongoing trade negotiations. he emphasized the importance of maintaining a positive relationship with beijing [peking], stating: "I hear so many stories that we're not going to allow their students... we're going to allow their students to come in. it's very important, 600,000 students. it's very important. but we're going to get along with china." he linked the decision to broader economic ties, noting that the U.S. is 'taking a lot of money in from china because of the tariffs and the different things' and describing the relationship as 'much better economically than it was before with Biden.' Trump also expressed interest in meeting chinese president Xi Jinping later in the year, adding that Xi had invited him to visit china.

"this announcement marks a reversal from earlier administration policies. in may 2025, secretary of state Marco Rubio stated that the U.S. would 'aggressively revoke' visas for chinese students, particularly those with ties to the chinese communist party (ccp) or studying in sensitive fields like stem. however, Trump softened this stance in june 2025, saying he had 'always been in favor' of welcoming chinese students as long as they did not pose a national security risk. [N.S.: But of course, they do!] the policy shift appears tied to trade talks, including a pause on high tariffs (previously up to 145% on chinese goods) and discussions over access to rare earth magnets, where Trump threatened 200% tariffs if beijing [peking] does not cooperate—but clarified that student visas would not be affected.

"the decision has drawn significant backlash from Trump's maga base, who view it as inconsistent with 'America first' priorities and immigration crackdowns. critics like rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene argued it would allow 'ccp spies' into the U.S. and displace American students, while commentator Laura Loomer called it an importation of 'communist spies' that undermines efforts to counter china. commerce secretary Howard Lutnick defended the move on Fox news, arguing that without chinese students, the 'bottom 15 percent of universities' would fail, and it would benefit U.S. education overall.

[N.S.: The bottom 15% of universities should fail!]

No direct x (formerly twitter) posts from Trump's account (@realDonaldTrump) matching this exact statement were found, likely because the announcement was made verbally during a white house event rather than via social media. Earlier Trump posts on x have referenced chinese students in the context of covid-19 travel bans (e.g., in 2020, defending his early restrictions from china), but none align with the 600,000 figure or the 2025 policy.