Beijing on Thursday retaliated against the US decision to cancel more than one visa 1,000 Chinese students and researchers The U.S. government posed a security risk or had ties to the Chinese military.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Shao Lijian said there was a prejudice behind the visa decision.

He told a news conference on Thursday that the move was a sign of political persecution and racial discrimination that seriously violated the human rights of Chinese students. The government-owned Global Times reported.

Beijing It warned that the right to take further action was reserved but not explained.

Acting Head Department of Homeland Security, Chad Wolf, When the visa was announced on Wednesday, China said it was trying to steal allegations that it had misused a Chinese student visa to exploit the American Academy. Corona virus research.

Two Chinese nationals – in China – have been indicted by the Justice Department for hacking governments, rebels and private companies. COVID-19 Vaccine Research. The hackers are accused of working for their own gain and for the Chinese intelligence service, the Ministry of State Security.

China has denied the allegations.

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The visa action was taken as per the May 29 announcement President Donald Trump In response to China’s restrictions Autonomy of Hong KongA State Department spokesman told Reuters.

The announcement, which took effect on June 1, targets 3,000 to 5,000 individuals affiliated with Chinese universities or institutions, and the U.S. says it is seeking to acquire foreign technology for the benefit of the Chinese military.

The vast majority of international students in the U.S. are Chinese students, some Attends 360,000 American schools each year, Colleges generate approximately $ 14 billion in revenue – although the COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected campus revenues this fall.

Sino-US relations have plunged to new heights In recent months, the two largest economies in the world have been facing problems from trade Human rights To Hong Kong And Coronavirus.

Trump, who was friendly Chinese President Xi Jinping, The main part of his campaign is to harden China Re-election on November 3, Blamed his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, Being soft on Beijing.

In the latest sign of China’s government-owned resource relationship People’s Daily The U.S. ambassador to China declined to comment on Wednesday, saying the article did not meet the criteria.

Reuters contributed to this report.