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The Trump administration on Wednesday released new rules to limit travel to the United States by members of the Chinese Communist Party and their immediate families, a move that is sure to exacerbate tensions between the two countries.
The new policy, which took effect immediately, limits the maximum duration of travel visas for party members and their families to one month, according to a State Department spokesperson. Previously, party members, like other Chinese citizens, could obtain visitor visas to the United States that were valid for 10 years.
Travel visas for group members will also be limited to a single entry rather than multiple entries as was previously possible, according to two people familiar with the changes.
The new measures do not affect the eligibility of party members for other types of visas, such as immigration or employment. The State Department spokesman added that no current visas would be revoked as a result of the policy changes. The spokesperson made his comments after the New York Times reported on the new limits.
The new visa rules reinforce the conflict, which has now lasted for years, between the two countries over trade, technology and many other things. Coming in the twilight of the Trump administration and directly targeting the Chinese ruling elite, visa restrictions and China’s likely response will be another challenge for President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr., who inherits a US relationship. -Chinese who is in its worst condition since the normalization of diplomatic relations in 1979.
While some might hope for a reset in Biden’s relations, his views on China have hardened since he was vice president to President Barack Obama. Mr Biden appears determined to leave many of the harsh measures taken by the Trump administration in place, including tariffs and restrictions on Chinese technology.
In an interview on Tuesday, Biden said he would consult with his allies first to craft a more comprehensive response to Chinese trade tactics. He also said he would vigorously fight human rights violations in China, including the mass detentions in the western Xinjiang region. Chinese officials fear Mr. Biden may be more effective than President Trump in leading a broad global response against China.
In principle, the new visa policy could affect the travel of around 270 million people, according to US government estimates based on a Communist Party membership of 92 million. In practice, it can be difficult to determine who, other than senior officials, belongs to the party. This could give Mr Biden some flexibility in applying the new rules, although it is difficult to ignore travel to the United States by senior Chinese officials and their family members.
According to those familiar with the new travel visa rules, U.S. officials may make a decision about a person’s Communist Party status based on their visa application and interview, as well as local understanding of party membership officials. This could mean that the policy is disproportionately hitting key Chinese government and business leaders rather than the millions of lower-level members who join the party to give themselves a head start in fields as diverse as business and government. Arts. Main Chinese leader Xi Jinping has reaffirmed the party’s primacy in many aspects of daily life.
The State Department spokesman called the move “the policy, regulation and action in place throughout the US government to protect our nation from the evil influence of the CCP.”
“For decades, we have allowed the CCP free and unhindered access to US institutions and businesses when these same privileges have never been freely granted to US citizens in China,” he added.
The change in policy is likely to result in retaliation from Beijing, although travel between China and the United States has already been severely limited by the coronavirus pandemic. In 2018, nearly three million Chinese citizens traveled to the United States.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying condemned the new rules at a press conference Thursday. “We hope that people in the United States will adopt a common rational view towards China and let go of their hatred and abnormal mindset towards the Communist Party,” Hua said, according to Bloomberg News.
The new rules could prove to be a first step in an attempt to systematically track lower-level party members who visit the United States. People who attempt to conceal their party membership when applying for a visa could face visa fraud charges if discovered later.
Even so, the restrictions are more moderate than an outright ban on travel to the United States by party members, which Trump administration officials discussed this summer.
The Trump administration has sought to push back what it calls party meddling operations in the United States. This year, the Justice Department accused eight people of leading a harassment campaign on behalf of Beijing targeting political dissidents and Chinese fugitives. He also accused Chinese researchers studying in the United States of visa fraud, saying they had misled the US government about their status as officers in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.
Under Mr. Trump’s leadership, the State Department announced further visa restrictions for various categories of Chinese citizens. These include those responsible for the mass internment and surveillance of Muslim ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang region, people working in the United States for state-controlled Chinese news agencies, and officials believed to be responsible. of political repression in Hong Kong.
In May, US officials said the government was canceling visas for graduate and above students in the United States who had ties to certain Chinese military institutions. Chinese students constitute the largest group of international students in the country.
The United States and China agreed in 2014 to increase the longest duration of tourist and business visas issued to their respective citizens to 10 years out of one year. The agreement was reached during a visit to Beijing by Mr. Obama, at a time of warmer relations between the two nations. In announcing the new visa policy at the time, the White House touted the benefits to the U.S. tourism industry and to trade and other trade relations with China.
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