[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5544 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5544
To reduce the number of student visas available to nationals of the
People's Republic of China until China removes certain restrictions on
United States students pursuing postsecondary educational opportunities
in China and to restrict the types of postsecondary study available to
Chinese nationals in the United States to include sensitive topics with
potential dual-use military application.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 17 (legislative day, December 16), 2024
Mr. Sullivan (for himself and Mr. Ricketts) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To reduce the number of student visas available to nationals of the
People's Republic of China until China removes certain restrictions on
United States students pursuing postsecondary educational opportunities
in China and to restrict the types of postsecondary study available to
Chinese nationals in the United States to include sensitive topics with
potential dual-use military application.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLES.
This Act may be cited as the ``Promoting Reciprocity on Chinese
Students Act'' or the ``PRC Students Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) American students in the People's Republic of China
(referred in this section as the ``PRC'') face internal travel
restrictions, censorship, and a growing threat of arrest or
detention via exit bans and an expanded espionage law.
(2) These restrictions and other threats have caused a
cooling effect on the matriculation of United States students
in Chinese universities, which has been compounded by anti-
western sentiment.
(3) There are currently fewer than 1,000 United States
students studying in China, while there are an estimated
290,000 Chinese students studying in the United States.
(4) The PRC has--
(A) heightened surveillance and political controls
on university campuses;
(B) intensified internet censorship;
(C) fortified its firewall, which blocks Google,
Facebook, and other United States social media
platforms; and
(D) subjected students to biometric scanning to
enter universities.
(5) Additional restrictions imposed by the PRC include--
(A) state censorship on topics deemed sensitive;
(B) an ongoing campaign against ``western values'';
(C) democratic backsliding;
(D) strict data protection laws; and
(E) restrictive access to state archives.
(6) Foreign students inside the PRC are required to
register with local authorities when undertaking internal
travel and certain areas in China, such as Xinjiang and Tibet,
cannot be accessed by foreign students without required travel
permits that must be obtained through an internal government-
registered operator.
(7) American students are explicitly restricted from
attending--
(A) the 2 universities that are directly
administered by the PRC's Central Military Commission,
the National Defense University and the National
University of Defense Technology;
(B) any of the PRC's military academies; and
(C) any other institution of higher education that
does not appear on the China Scholarship Council's list
of approved universities.
(8) The PRC has used ``exit bans'' to stop some foreigners
from leaving the country and has engaged in arbitrary
detentions.
(9) The Counterespionage Law of the PRC, which was passed
by the National People's Congress on April 26, 2023, expands
the definition of espionage from covering state secrets and
intelligence to any ``documents, data, materials or items
related to national security'', without specifying the
parameters for how such terms are defined. The offenses
previously covered by privacy provisions under the Criminal Law
of the PRC had carried a maximum penalty of 3 years
imprisonment, but were not often enforced. Under the new law,
such offenses can result in imprisonment for life or the death
penalty.
(10) Chinese students in the United States and in other
western countries have been accused of espionage and
intelligence collection to bolster the PRC's military base as
part of the Chinese Communist Party's Military-Civil Fusion
Policy.
(11) In January 2024, a Chinese student studying at the
University of Minnesota crashed a drone in a tree near Langley
Air Force base in Hampton, Virginia. After flying to California
the following day, the student was arrested and charged with
espionage.
(12) In September 2024, United States prosecutors alleged
that 5 Chinese University of Michigan graduates, who claimed to
be stargazing, were taking photos in the middle of the night of
military vehicles at Camp Grayling during a United States
National Guard training exercise that included Taiwanese
military personnel.
(13) According to the Select Committee on the Chinese
Communist Party of the House of Representatives, the PRC
operates nearly 500 foreign talent programs whose members are
contractually obligated to return to the PRC with secrets and
expertise gained in foreign universities and labs in order to
drive military modernization and other technological
development in the PRC.
(14) On October 14, 2024, the Wall Street Journal reported
that, according to European security officials--
(A) Chinese students and guest scientists have
become a prime conduit for Chinese espionage in the
West;
(B) Chinese spies masquerading as researchers have
recently grown better at hiding their tracks;
(C) some Chinese students enroll in language or
literature courses and later switch to quantum
computing or other sensitive areas; and
(D) the PRC's intelligence-gathering and security
operations might comprise up to 600,000 people.
(15) According to the Australian Strategic Policy
Institute, the People's Liberation Army has sponsored more than
2,500 military scientists and engineers to study abroad during
the most recent 15 years in order to acquire technology needed
to modernize the PRC's military.
SEC. 3. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to introduce reciprocity into the Sino-
American relationship by--
(1) reducing the number of Chinese students in the United
States to match the number of American students in the People's
Republic of China as long as PRC restrictions against United
States students persist; and
(2) restricting the types of postsecondary study available
to Chinese nationals in the United States to include sensitive
topics with potential dual-use military application.
SEC. 4. GRADUAL REDUCTION OF CHINESE STUDENTS IN THE UNITED STATES.
Section 214(m) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1184(m)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(3)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (C), the
Secretary of State, beginning in fiscal year 2025, in
collaboration with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall
annually reduce by 50,000 the number of nationals of the
People's Republic of China who are authorized to reside in the
United States as nonimmigrants under subparagraph (F)(i),
(J)(i), or (M)(i) of section 101(a)(15) compared to the number
of such aliens so authorized during the previous fiscal year,
until the number of such aliens is equal to the number of
United States citizens who are enrolled in a postsecondary
course of study in the People's Republic of China.
``(B) Nationals of the People's Republic of China who are
admitted to the United States as nonimmigrants under section
101(a)(15)(F)(i) may not be enrolled at a United States
institution of higher education in any postsecondary program
involving a sensitive topic with potential dual-use military
application, including--
``(i) naval architecture;
``(ii) marine engineering;
``(iii) aircraft engineering;
``(iv) artificial intelligence;
``(v) quantum computing; and
``(vi) any other area of study determined by the
Secretary of Defense to involve a sensitive topic with
potential dual-use military application.
``(C)(i) The Secretary of State shall submit a report to
Congress as soon as the Secretary determines that the
Government of the People's Republic of China--
``(I) has lifted internal travel restrictions
relating to--
``(aa) the requirement that United States
students register with local authorities when
traveling within China; and
``(bb) the requirement that United States
students obtain internal travel permits and
guided tours to visit certain provinces within
China, such as Xinjiang and Tibet;
``(II) is granting United States students within
China access to the internet and Chinese research
databases that is commensurate with the access
available to the internet and United States research
databases by Chinese students in the United States;
``(III) has discontinued threats of exit bans and
the arbitrary detention of United States students; and
``(IV) is granting United States students access to
all Chinese universities and institutions of higher
education.
``(ii) Beginning on the first day of the first fiscal year
beginning after the date on which the report required under
clause (i) is submitted to Congress, the restriction on the
admittance of Chinese students described in subparagraph (A)
shall cease to have any force or effect.''.
<all>