US tightens China restrictions on visas, genomics firms and campus centres

• The US blacklisted three Chinese genomics firms over alleged forced labour links in Xinjiang

• The Trump administration suspended visa-free travel for Chinese visitors to the Northern Mariana Islands over security concerns

• The Pentagon labelled Confucius Institutes a national security threat, alleging intellectual property theft; China rejected the claims

The Donald Trump administration has stepped up its actions against China on three fronts in a single week, restricting visa-free travel for Chinese nationals to a US Pacific territory, blacklisting three Chinese genomics companies over alleged links to forced labour, and designating Chinese-funded cultural centres at American universities as a national security threat.

The measures, announced by different US government agencies, reflect Washington’s growing concerns over national security, forced labour, espionage and Beijing’s influence in American academic institutions.

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Wednesday added three Chinese companies — BGI Genomics, MGI Tech and Shenzhen BGI Technology, also known as BGI Group — to the Entity List under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA).

Effective 29 October, US Customs and Border Protection will apply a “rebuttable presumption” that goods produced by the three entities are prohibited from entering the United States. This means importers must provide evidence to overcome the presumption that such goods are linked to forced labour.

According to DHS, the US government has “reasonable cause to believe, based on specific and articulable information,” that BGI Genomics conducts genetic testing in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) in coordination with the regional government and as part of its government initiatives.

The department alleged that the testing is used to facilitate the recruitment, transport, transfer, harbouring or receiving of forced labour.

The listing marks another step by Washington to restrict imports linked to alleged forced labour in Xinjiang, a region that has been at the centre of international scrutiny over China's treatment of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic groups.

In a separate move, the DHS announced the suspension of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Economic Vitality and Security Travel Authorization Program (EVS-TAP), which allowed eligible, prescreened Chinese nationals to visit the US Pacific territory without obtaining a visa.

A notice published in the Federal Register on 27 October said the suspension would take effect at 2 pm Eastern Daylight Time on 30 October. The measure also covers existing travel authorisations.

The department said it believed Chinese nationals were exploiting the programme, citing concerns about potential espionage near military facilities on the islands of Tinian and Guam, smuggling to Guam and birth tourism.

“DHS judges that PRC nationals are almost certainly exploiting EVS-TAP,” the notice stated.

More than 3,000 Chinese nationals used the programme in fiscal year 2025, according to the notice.

The Northern Mariana Islands, a US commonwealth in the western Pacific, occupy a strategically significant location near key American military installations in the region. The suspension underscores Washington’s concerns about security risks associated with travel arrangements that permit entry without a conventional visa.

The Trump administration has also intensified its scrutiny of Chinese-funded cultural centres operating at American universities.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the Pentagon had designated Confucius Institutes as a threat to US national security. The institutes are Chinese-funded centres that have traditionally promoted Chinese language and culture at universities and other educational institutions.

In a video statement, Hegseth alleged that more than 80 new organisations had emerged across 30 universities under different names and institutional arrangements but with the same underlying mission.

“It turns out that 80 new propaganda cells across 30 universities had popped up using different names and different charters, but with the same mission: to steal intellectual property and to infiltrate the minds of American students,” he said.

Hegseth added that the Defence Department had spent the previous two months systematically dismantling the organisations.

The Pentagon said on 19 October that research security audits at 30 universities had resulted in more than 80 “termination-related actions”, according to Voice of America (VOA).

China has rejected the allegations against Confucius Institutes. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said Beijing opposed what he described as “smears and stigmatisation” targeting the institutes, VOA reported.

The dispute reflects broader concerns in Washington about research security, foreign funding and the potential transfer of sensitive technology through academic partnerships. Beijing, meanwhile, has criticised US actions against Chinese cultural and educational initiatives.

The latest moves come as US-China relations remain marked by competing security and economic interests, even as the two governments continue diplomatic engagement.

Trump said a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on nuclear weapons had been scheduled, signalling that discussions between the two countries are continuing alongside Washington’s latest restrictions.

The actions span immigration, trade enforcement and higher education, highlighting the multiple areas in which the Trump administration is seeking to address what it views as risks associated with China.

While the US government has cited forced labour, espionage and research security to justify the measures, Beijing has pushed back against allegations it considers politically motivated. The developments add another layer of tension to an already complex relationship between the world’s two largest economies.

With IANS inputs