China on January 4 urged the United States to stop bullying and restricting Chinese students in the name of national security, adding the U.S. needs to ensure the security and lawful rights and interests of Chinese students and scholars in the country.

Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a daily press briefing in response to a related query.

Wang said the U.S. has long been wantonly suppressing and ill-treating Chinese students traveling to the U.S. with lawful and valid identifications and visas. Some of the students were interrogated, confined, forced into confession, induced and even deported without just cause. Every month for the past few months, the U.S. deported dozens of Chinese arriving in the U.S., including students. "This is a clear case of selective, discriminatory and politically motivated law enforcement. We strongly deplore and firmly oppose this."

He said the U.S. likes to portray itself as open, inclusive and a place for academic freedom, but it wrongly adopted Proclamation 10043 and put it into force, overstretched the concept of national security, politicized and weaponized academic research and repeatedly interrogated, harassed and deported Chinese students.

"Such behavior has seriously undermined the students' lawful rights and interests and poisoned the atmosphere for China-U.S. people-to-people exchanges. It goes against the two Presidents' agreement to promote and facilitate people-to-people exchanges and the two peoples' shared desire for more friendly exchanges," said Wang.

China urges the U.S. to act on its commitment of welcoming Chinese students to study in the U.S., withdraw the unjust Proclamation 10043 and stop bullying and restricting Chinese students in the name of national security, the spokesperson said.

The U.S. needs to ensure the security and lawful rights and interests of Chinese students and scholars in the U.S. and take concrete steps to support and facilitate people-to-people exchanges and cross-border travel between the two countries as it has promised, said Wang. "China will continue to take necessary measures to resolutely protect Chinese citizens' lawful rights and interests. We also remind Chinese students traveling to the U.S. to be mindful of such risks."