China heavily criticized the Trump administration’s decision Thursday to bar Harvard University from enrolling international students and vowed that Beijing will protect the rights of its students studying overseas.
“China-U.S. education cooperation benefits both sides. China opposes politicizing education cooperation. What the U.S. seeks to do will undoubtedly hurt its own image and reputation in the world,” China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Friday during a press conference.
“China will firmly protect the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese students and scholars overseas,” she added.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday ordered the department to remove Harvard, the U.S.’s wealthiest university, from the Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification.
With the SEVP certification being revoked, thousands of students will have to transfer elsewhere or risk losing their legal status.
Noem said the administration is holding Harvard accountable for “fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus,” adding that it is a “privilege, not a right,” for SEVP-certified universities to enroll foreign-born students and “benefit from their higher tuition payments to help pad their multibillion-dollar endowments.”
The Ivy League institution enrolled 6,793 international undergrad students during the 2024-2025 academic year, which makes up 27.2 percent of the school’s student body, according to Harvard’s enrollment data. There are just over 1,200 Chinese students.
The university, in response, said DHS’ action is “unlawful” and that the university is “fully committed to maintaining Harvard’s ability to host our international students and scholars, who hail from more than 140 countries and enrich the University — and this nation — immeasurably.”
“We are working quickly to provide guidance and support to members of our community. This retaliatory action threatens serious harm to the Harvard community and our country, and undermines Harvard’s academic and research mission,” Harvard’s spokesperson said on Thursday.
Noem warned that the ban on Harvard from enrolling more international students should serve as a warning to other schools around the country.
“Absolutely. We are absolutely — this should be a warning to every other university to get your act together,” Noem told Fox News’s Gillian Turner on Thursday.
“Get your act together, because we are coming to make sure that these programs, that you are facilitating an environment where students can learn, where they’re safe, and that they’re not discriminated against based on their race or their religion,” she added.
