Several Chinese students and company employees have recently been subjected to “unwarranted interrogations and harassment” by US airport law enforcement officers, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on its WeChat account on Friday .
Since November, at least eight Chinese students with valid documents have been searched, interrogated or sent back from Washington Dulles International Airport alone, according to a tally by Chinese media.In January, China Science Daily, a newspaper affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, reported that a biological sciences PhD candidate was deported by officials at Dulles airport in December as she was trying to return to the US to continue her studies.
On Mar 8, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said the US has disrupted personnel exchanges between the two countries, violating the consensus reached by the heads of states. In recent months, the two countries have pledged to encourage educational and other exchanges. In November, while on a visit to the US, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced China would invite 50,000 young Americans to study in the next five years.is one of the most important bilateral relationships in the world” and expressed hope that people from all sectors in both countries could take part in more visits and exchanges.