The United States has sent back more than 1,000 Chinese citizens under a program that focuses on researchers and graduate students believed to be tied to the Chinese military. This revoking process has been carried out since June.

The US State Department said in a statement released earlier this week that high-risk research scholars and graduate students have been expelled as they were subject to Presidential Proclamation 10043, which disqualifies them for a visa. The proclamation was issued by Donald Trump in May and was implemented in June.

The proclamation suggests China is involved in a heavily resourced, wide‑ranging campaign to get its hands on sensitive intellectual and technologies property, partly to boost the capability of its military, the "People's Liberation Army." The State Department attributed the revocation of visas to safeguarding US national security by restricting PRC's ability to take advantage of Chinese researchers and Chinese graduate students in the country to steal U.S. intellectual property, technologies, and information to bolster its military capabilities.

Acting US Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf opened up about the revocation of visas on Wednesday, accusing China of taking advantage of every aspect of its country including its diplomatic power, its military, and its economy. Furthermore, Wolf said China continues to demonstrate a rejection of western liberal democracy while renewing its commitment to change the world order in its own authoritarian way.

The State Department suggests the recent expulsions affected a small subset of the total number of Chinese researchers and students that come to the United States. Noting that it will welcome legitimate scholars and students from China, the department said it will not support the Chinese Communist Party's goals of military dominance.

There are about 369,000 Chinese nationals estimated to be studying in the United States, but a considerable number of these students have had their studies interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. The Institute of International Education suggests China has been the largest source of international students for a decade now.

While Beijing has not yet reacted to the recent announcement, but China's education ministry said in June that it resolutely opposes the U.S. government's move to restrict Chinese students. The ministry condemned any calculated politicization and stigmatization of normal academic exchanges.

Under Trump's administration, Washington and Beijing relations have plummeted. The expulsion of Chinese students is likely to be met with similar action from Beijing, in the wake of a trend of tit-for-tat moves in recent months.