The United States will take action to prevent alleged espionage by Chinese students, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday, ahead of an expected announcement by President Donald Trump.
Trump earlier said that he will hold a press conference Friday about China amid soaring tensions between the two powers, including over the status of Hong Kong and the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Asked about a report in The New York Times that Trump was considering throwing out thousands of graduate students, Pompeo said that Chinese students "shouldn't be here in our schools spying."
"We know we have this challenge. President Trump, I am confident, is going to take that on," Pompeo told Fox News, while declining to say if action would be announced on Friday.
"We have an obligation a duty to make sure that students that are coming here to study… aren't acting on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party," Pompeo said.
https://www.afp.com/en/news/3954/pompeo-says-trump-act-chinese-students-doc-1sg2ql6