China on US revoking visas of 1,000 Chinese students

China said the US move to revoke the visas of about 1,000 Chinese students amounts to "outright political persecution and racial discrimination".

The statement from Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian came a day after Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said his department was blocking visas for "certain Chinese graduate students and researchers with ties to China's military fusion strategy to prevent them from stealing and otherwise appropriating sensitive research."

A US State Department spokesperson later put the number of visas to be revoked at 1,000.

Zhao said the move damaged the "legitimate rights and interests of Chinese students studying in the US" and China reserves the right to make further response.

Zhao also said the Chinese fishing fleet in international waters near Ecuador's Galapagos archipelago is  operating in accordance with the law.

The fishing fleet that was estimated as remaining in the area since June raised concerns about overfishing and the threat to vulnerable marine species.

"They have not entered the exclusive economic zone of coastal countries and disposed of on-board garbage in accordance with relevant regulations," said Zhao.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Chinese vessels near Galapagos were "deeply troubling".

"We strongly urge US officials to stop spreading rumors and  false news, and stop sowing discords, otherwise they will only insult themselves and further tarnish their own image," said Zhao.

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