Trump Bans Harvard From Accepting Foreign Students, China Reacts

Harvard Campus, Boston, Massachusetts/UNSPLASH/Pascal Bernardon/ILLUSTRATION UNSPLASH/Pascal Bernardon

JAKARTA - China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs ensures it will protect the legitimate rights and interests of its students and scholars abroad, responding to the Trump administration's decision to ban Harvard University from accepting foreign students.

"The US action will certainly affect his image and credibility," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said at a press conference reported by Reuters, Friday, May 23.

Mao Ning emphasized that the cooperation between China and the US benefits both parties.

US President Donald Trump revoked Harvard University's permission to accept foreign students. The Trump administration is also forcing foreign students today to move to another campus or lose their legal status.

US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem ordered the department to stop the Harvard University Student Program and Student Exchange certification which applies to the 2025-2026 school year.

Noem accused the university of "provoking violence, antisemitism, and communicating with the Chinese Communist Party."

In response to the government's decision, Harvard said the actions taken by the Trump administration were illegal and a form of retaliation.

The decision marks a significant increase in Trump's government campaign of the elite Ivy League university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which has emerged as one of Trump's most prominent institutional targets.

The move came after Harvard refused to provide Noem's requested information about several foreign student visa holders at Harvard.

In 2022, Chinese citizens are the largest foreign student group, with 1,016, according to university data.

After that, there were students from Canada, India, South Korea, England, Germany, Australia, Singapore, and Japan.

"It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to accept foreign students and benefit from higher tuition fees to help add to their billions of dollars worth of endowment funds," Noem said.

In his letter to the university, Noem gave Harvard "the opportunity" to regain his certification by handing over a large number of records about foreign students within 72 hours, including videos or audio of their protest activities in the last five years.